Infinite Anime Loops
by BIOS-Pherecydes
Summary: Yggdrasil, the supercomputer god-tree which runs all of reality, has suffered a cataclysmic breakdown. In order to prevent all of existence from falling apart, uncountable worlds within the Multiverse have been placed into a near-permanent time loop. Based on the idea created by Innortal: These are the Infinite Loops, and this is their insanity.
1. Chapter 1

1.1

[Rosario+Vampire]

Staring in surprise at the flaming fist currently protruding from his chest, Tsukune idly wondered why it was he wasn't panicking. In the background he could hear the sound of his loves screaming out in rage and anguish, but the strange ringing in his ears made it a passing concern. Actually... that thought was more worrying than the remains of what he vaguely recognized as his heart in the fist of the arm of his attacker. There had never been a time he could remember when he hadn't been concerned about the women in his life, to the exclusion of all else. He supposed that it was a testament to his fatal injury, that for the first time that was the case.

It was funny. He couldn't even remember how old he actually was and yet it was only now when faced with an injury even his vampiric abilities couldn't repair that he contemplated the possibility of death. With a sickening jerk the arm retreated from his body and he fell to the ground. As his life-blood seeped from the wound he found himself thinking back over the memories he had made in the course of his life. His very, very long life.

He didn't exactly remember the first time he had abruptly found himself returned to the past, but he could recall with a sense of certainty the events which had followed. He had gone from enjoying a day at the Youkai Academy not long after the defeat of Alucard to being hit by Moka's bike on his first day in a split second. Of course considering the fact that the pinkette he had known had been lost to the battle against the Shinso Lord, he had been admittedly surprised to see her again. It went without saying that their second first meeting didn't exactly go well and Moka was left with a poor impression of his mental state. He was able to change that following the incident with Saizo, but all in all it could have gone better.

Despite his best efforts however he had lost Moka again by the end of the fight against Alucard, only to once more return to being hit by her bike on the first day of his first year. Their third first meeting went much better. At that point he decided that the universe had somehow chosen to throw him a bone and given him the opportunity to save Moka from apparently certain doom. It took a few tries but he did eventually succeed. Only to once more find himself being run over.

Seeing as how saving Moka didn't end whatever it was that was going on, he decided to simply run with it. If nothing else it gave him more time to spend with the woman he loved. However it was then that things became complicated. He hadn't taken any pains to avoid becoming close to his other friends in the Newspaper Club, and as a result they eventually came to care for him as strongly as they ever had. Tsukune wasn't blind, even the first time it had happened. He knew what they felt, but as much as he cared for them he had already chosen Moka. And then Kurumu died.

Obviously that didn't sit well with him. He had assumed, incorrectly, that she had been exaggerating her claims of needing love to survive in order to coerce him to choose her to be with. He couldn't ignore that afterwards. He had at first tried to find a decent monster at the Academy for her to fall in love with, but every effort either ended in complete disaster or in her uncovering his efforts and falling in love with him instead. That was when he first started to consider her claims of Destined Love seriously. As a result of trying to find someone for her to be with other than him, he had found himself growing closer to the Succubus in rapid succession. Eventually he was forced to accept the fact that his love for her was as great as his love for Moka and he began to spend more time with her for its own sake. And then came the incident with the Yuki-onna village and Mizore's forced marriage.

Because he had spent more time growing closer with Kurumu, she and Mizore had spent less time becoming friendly rivals. And as a result of that lack of bond Kurumu had failed to comfort Mizore in the manner she had always done so following the Snow Woman's perceived tainting at the hands, and lips, of Miyabi (otherwise known as Alucard's clone). Tsukune had held the dying Mizore in his arms after finding her nearly dead from self-inflicted wounds, and after her death had simply left the Academy. He had sat out the rest of the events which followed at his parent's home. The events of Fairy Tale's revival of Alucard had been broadcast to the world, but he chose not to watch with the rest of his family; instead simply choosing to go to sleep and wait for the end of the world. Then he got run over.

The next several times he found himself in the past he had focused on trying to pay equal attention to all three of the women he loved, and somehow even managed to get them to ignore their own personal issues with each other for each other's sake. This lasted for nearly a hundred repeated returns to the past, less than a quarter of the total he had experienced by that point. He was somewhat less surprised when Ruby was the next to face a crisis he hadn't expected. For whatever reason her master had been far more shrewd in her actions, and rather than find her at the Witch's Knoll it wasn't until facing off against Fairy Tale that he discovered what had happened. Oyakata had used the forbidden magic to fuse with Ruby rather than the Hanabake plants. Tsukune, already desolate at having not seen her for the whole time-line, had been further devastated when he had been forced to take her life in order to free her from her Master's possession.

At this point Tsukune found himself unable to take it anymore and immediately upon standing from his impact with Moka's bike had simply turned and walked away. He wasn't sure how long he completely avoided the Youkai Academy, but he estimated he didn't set foot within it for at least a hundred and fifty years. Eventually however, his desire to see the women he loved proved too much and he returned. That was a decision which nearly broke him.

He had done his best to reconnect with all of his friends, but due to the extended period since his last visit he had forgotten a vitally important detail. Yukari. He had gotten so used to remembering the young witch as the powerful magical fighter from the attack on Fairy Tale he had dismissed the threat the Lizardmen posed to her earlier self. He would never forgive himself for what happened that day, and even more he would never forgive _them._ They suffered for a long time, but not nearly as long as he himself did; albeit in a much less physical manner.

Tsukune considered himself to be a fairly intelligent person. Maybe not the brightest bulb in the box, but above average for his age-group. He knew how to take a hint, even if it did take him a while. He spent a long time after that making sure to pay equal attention to his girls; and at this point he had long since lost the reluctance to call them anything else, they were _his_ girls. After a long time however he did find himself once more desiring to spend more time with his first love.

He took a great deal of care to ensure the others were happy, but in all other aspects he devoted himself entirely to Moka. Every waking moment was hers. Every need she had he attended to. He showered her with all the love he had ever felt for her all at once, until she was all but overwhelmed by it. He even explained his situation as best as he understood it. Being who she was she accepted him, time-travel and all. And then she ran him over with her bike. The following revelation that Moka still recalled their previous time together was perhaps the happiest moment of his millennium long life to date. The fact that she didn't remember him the time after that was without a doubt the worst.

After he managed to overcome his depression, curiosity slowly consumed his mind and he decided to retry the events which had led to Moka's memory lasting past the time reset. It was an unqualified failure. After hundreds of times focusing all of his efforts on Moka once more, she failed to follow him to the past a second time. In desperation he turned to Kurumu and, just as Moka had before, Kurumu joined him in the past the next time he found himself there. And then she was gone.

Tsukune logically deduced that he would only have one chance with each of his girls and set about planning how long he felt he could maintain his sanity before he would need to bring one of them back with him. He made it a little less than one hundred years before he turned to Mizore. He only made it twenty before he sought out Ruby. And then there was a miracle shortly before he convinced himself to focus on Yukari, regardless of her youth; he was after all by this time more than a dozen centuries older than anyone he knew, what did a few years really matter.

Following his return to the past he was greeted by not just one, but all four of his loves once again reunited with him in the current present. After learning that for them no extra time had passed since they had previously joined him he tactfully neglected to inform them of the many, many years that had passed for him since they had last been together. Following the time reset he had wasted no time bringing Yukari into the fold once more. He soon discovered that he had to endure multiple resets until he next met up with his loves, and not always together as they had been that one time. Even so, for them he could wait until eternity.

Together they had set about finding a way to solve the problems which had plagued their first lives, and putting right what had once gone wrong. In the process they had inevitably grown much, much closer. It went without saying that their hormones quickly found an outlet, and frequently at that. But like all things tended to do, eventually that became boring; the problem solving that is, not the love-making. Never the love-making.

Once it became absolutely apparent that there was unlikely to be any end to the never-ending time resets, they were forced to find other ways to entertain themselves. Yukari was the first to resort to pranking Fairy Tale, but that soon became a favorite past-time for the entire Club.

And then as it had done so many times before, the universe threw him a curveball. Rather than returning to the now long familiar road up to the Youkai Academy he had instead found himself running along the school track, and moving far faster than his human self had ever done. Having not expected to find himself mid-step at full speed, he quickly became acquainted with an entirely different segment of ground than the one he was used to. That wasn't even the beginning of the changes which he found himself. The absolute worst of them was the fact that apparently Moka was dead, and at his hands no less; courtesy of the School swimming pool.

He had the horrific memories of the event, which he had never lived through and simultaneously lived all too clearly, branded in his mind. He had no idea where Yukari, Mizore or Kurumu were and somehow he had found himself dating Keito of the Student Police. All together these revelations proved enough to keep him in a state of shock for weeks. Only his previous experience dealing with the loss of one of his girls and the knowledge that this would all be wiped away when everything reset kept him calm; and ironically it was his still blinding self hatred for what he had allowed to happen to Yukari which managed to keep him from killing himself for what his other self had done to Moka.

During the whole distasteful affair he surprisingly found himself relying upon Keito a great deal, and he actually found himself growing closer to the Jorōgumo. Once he moved past her strict, sometimes cruel, outer mask he found her to be just another person like any other; albeit one who could produce her own silk for her knitting. He wasn't sure how much of her personality was this version of her alone, and how much she shared with the other version of her he knew but he soon found himself in a state of something approaching contentment. It helped that he had managed to come clean to his parents about his current relationship. The end of the strange events found him holding the sleeping woman in his arms contemplating the strangeness which was his life. And then the world reset.

It was almost eighty years before the events of that time returned with a vengeance. In retrospect he should have realized at the time what he was doing; every time he had spent a repeat in a singular focused relationship with one of his girls, she had joined him in the past later. He supposed it had been the utter difference between that world's history and his normal one which had convinced him that nothing could come from it. Clearly he had been wrong, and consequently he had spent almost two thousand years trying to return everything to a stable state and include Keito in the group dynamics. Eventually everyone had come to terms with the situation in their own way and they had moved on with their seeming immortality. Time passed as it always tended to do, and before long another millennium had passed; and then two, and then four. Eventually he just stopped counting.

In theory Tsukune knew that they were all insane to some degree, after all no mortal mind was truly prepared to shoulder the burden of eternal life. In practice however, he often had trouble seeing the problems which he knew they had. Somehow, through a method he didn't even pretend to understand, together they managed to hold each other steady; each supporting the other where they were weak and in turn being supported in their own weaknesses. Or as Yukari had said, the sum was greater than the individual parts.

That had led to greater risks whenever they were all together, because they trusted one another to cover for them. Which was probably how he found himself in the current situation. They had decided that Kuyou needed to be taken down a peg or two, but they had dismissed his pride and short temper. As a result they had misjudged exactly how far the Kitsune would go in order to have his vengeance. They had never even considered trickery and literal backstabbing. As his vision started to darken Tsukune reflected that that had clearly been a mistake, he was a Kitsune after all.

A quiet thought came to him, as his breath grew short. _'I think this might be the first time I've ever died. I wonder if that means it's finally over?'_

And then he knew no more.

-x-X-x-

Urd was not a complicated Goddess. She liked fun, she liked sleeping and she liked alcohol, none of which she got to have much of since the Event. It was always do this, patch that, make sure that none of the Loopers accidentally Ascends and destroys all of existence. Bah! Abruptly a loud beeping erupted from her monitor, drawing her ire. Like that. That was exactly what she was talking about. One of the Anchors just got him/her/itself killed. With a frustrated sigh she pulled one of her consoles up and rapidly pulled up the file for the Loop. Quickly reading through it she was prepared to shunt the Anchor off to Eiken or something before doing a double take. That... that couldn't be right. Could it?

"Well shit."

-x-X-x-

Skuld was irritated. Well, less irritated and more full blown seething mad but she'd be damned before she let her pest of an older sister know that. "Let me get this straight. This Branch has been active ever since the Crash and nobody noticed?!"

Urd nodded as she showed her little sister the printout. "It looks like Yggdrasil activated it on its own. The Anchor didn't really cause any problems for his first few hundred Loops and there was so many other problems to deal with that it slipped past the radar. By the time we got everything settled again, he had avoided causing any issues and so nobody realized anything was going on."

"What about Fused Loops? It's been almost ten thousand years since the Crash happened. Someone had to have seen him."

Urd scanned through the data before pointing out the relevant sections. "According to this the code which the program uses to set up Fused Loops got scrambled and ended up tied to one of the Loopers. The problem is that the person it's tied to isn't Awake. The Branch reads as having had an appropriate number of Fused Loops but since the one with the coding attached to her isn't even Loop Aware it couldn't properly activate the program."

Skuld felt a migraine building and fought the urge to pull her hair and scream. "Okay, first of all Activate whoever the data is tied to as long as it isn't a threat. Then get Freya down here. This Loop is her kind of thing so she can deal with it."

Giving a tired sigh she leaned back in her chair causing Urd to frown sympathetically. Ever since this whole debacle began her little sister had been forced to grow up way too fast and take on a lot more responsibility as the Chief Debugger. She may not have had the best relationship with the youngest Norn, but they were still family. She'd see if she could get Belldandy to visit more often, they got along much better with each other than she did. Still she did have something which might cheer her sister up.

"There is one bit of good news about all of this." She said with her normal grin. Skuld raised an eyebrow questioningly but said nothing. "Since this is the first time the Anchor has died so far, his Branch is incredibly stable. In fact this guy may have sped up Yggdrasil's recovery by a few million years."

Skuld considered this and gave a small smile at the thought. Granted in the long run that was barely chump change, but anything was better than nothing if it meant that eventually they might actually be able to put this whole thing to rest at last. Progress was always a good thing.

Seeing that she had accomplished her good deed for the day, Urd headed out to get back to work. But maybe she could stop off at the break room and get a bit of sake; good deeds should be rewarded after all.

-x-X-x-

Tsukune lurched forward with a desperate gasp as he frantically gripped the hole in his chest... except there was no hole. And accompanying the sudden lack of gaping wound was a stunning absence of pain to go with it. Quickly putting two and two together he slumped back down into his seat.

Wait. Seat?

Taking a look at his surroundings for the first time he was surprised to find himself back on the bus to the Youkai Academy. After what had happened he actually found himself missing the familiar sensation of Moka's bike running him down, if for no other reason than because it was always immediately followed by seeing his pink haired lover. More upset by the extended wait to see Moka than by his previous murder, he rested his head against the window and stared blankly out at the passing scenery.

"So even dying won't end whatever's going on then." he mused with a sigh.

"Heh. Death is only the beginning kid." the familiar voice of the bus-driver spoke up, catching Tsukune's attention. "If you're worried about dying, maybe Youkai Academy ain't the place for you."

Tsukune gave a soft laugh. "Sorry Mr. Bus-Driver, there's nowhere else I'd rather be."

The bus-driver gave a chuckle and pulled to a stop. "You sure kid? Youkai Academy can be pretty scary."

Tsukune smirked and grabbed his bags as he recalled his past, even before time had begun repeating for him. "So can I."

Grinning around his cigar he watched as Tsukune stepped off the bus before replying. "Tell that to her."

Before Tsukune could ask what he meant, the doors closed in his face and the bus pulled away. Frowning slightly Tsukune hefted his bags and turned to begin the familiar journey to the Academy, only to stop short at the sight in front of him. Sitting on a large boulder was a strawberry blonde woman in an armored tunic covered by a cloak of what looked like feathers and with a winged helmet hanging from her waist. Parked beside her was a large chariot, the harness of which was wrapped around what appeared to be a pair of blue Bakemono whom she was petting gently. Alerted by one of the large felines the woman turned to face him before breaking out into a grin.

Tsukune was forced to retreat as the woman rapidly made her way over to him, walking around him in a circle as if inspecting a product. Finally she gave a laugh and smacked him on the back with a laugh. "Not bad, not bad at all. I can see why your ladies like you so much." This was punctuated by a pinch in a very sensitive area, causing Tsukune to give a yelp. "Such a shame I couldn't meet you earlier." she said with a seductive pout.

"Wh-who are you?" Tsukune cursed himself for the stutter in his voice, but it wasn't often that beautiful women approached him like this.

...Actually, no. This was pretty much par for the course ever since he had come to the Youkai Academy. It was just usually he knew the woman in question before she came onto him. Staring into the bright blue eyes of the unknown woman he tried to think of a single time he had ever even seen this person before, only to come up empty.

She gave a stunning smile and placed her hands behind her back, emphasizing her 'assets' as she responded. "My name is Freya, I am the Goddess in charge of your world."

Tsukune took a second to process that before nodding. He then picked up his bags and proceeded to walk away from the obviously insane woman. He quickly came to a stop however when he found his path blocked by the two large cats from before. A pair of thin arms wrapped their way around him and Tsukune quietly hoped that none of his girls had come back with him. He didn't want to die again so soon after the last time.

"Now is that anyway to treat a lady? I really am a Goddess you know. I'm here to help you deal with your little time loop problem." Abruptly switching from seduction to force she then proceeded to lock his arms behind his back and drag him over to the rock she had been sitting on when he first saw her.

Rubbing his shoulders to try and get feeling back into them he stared at the supposed Goddess as she dug around her chariot.

 _'Damn she's strong. -sigh- So if she's really a Goddess then maybe she actually can help.'_ Taking a look at the junk being thrown from the chariot Tsukune sweatdropped. _'Or maybe she's just_ really _drunk.'_

"Aha! Here we go." With a happy smile Freya sauntered over to where Tsukune sat and handed him a small booklet. "This should explain the fine details, take a look at it once I'm done. Alright so first thing you should know is that the universe is broken. Not just your universe though, all of them. Do you know anything about Norse mythology?"

Taken aback by the apparent non sequitur, Tsukune tried to remember any details he knew of mythology. It wasn't much. "Uh, I know about some of the Gods like Odin, Loki and Thor."

Freya sighed, an act that did interesting things to her anatomy which Tsukune definitely didn't notice. Definitely.

"Well, that's about what I expected. It would have made it a lot easier if you had at least some knowledge about the World Tree though. Okay, think of it like this: reality is composed of infinite universes each with its own set of lifeforms and rules. Each of these worlds is comparable to the leaf of a tree. That tree is called Yggdrasil."

Tsukune nodded hesitantly. "So all of reality is a giant tree?"

Freya smiled lopsidedly. "Close enough. A much more simplified explanation is that it's actually an n-dimensional representation of the cosmological superstructure upon which the universal superstring can materialize the conceptual existence of time, space and energy on a twenty-fifth dimensional plane, which exists both within and outside of itself while simultaneously encompassing the entirety of the time-space continuum and casting a four dimensional shadow of itself upon the fabric of reality. But it's just easier to say its a giant tree. Which is also a supercomputer."

...He wasn't sure how, or if, he should respond to that.

"Moving on! My job is to help Yggdrasil run smoothly and ensure the continued growth of the Multiverse. However a long time ago, don't ask how long, something happened and as a result Yggdrasil was damaged. In order to buy time to repair it we Goddesses and Gods were called in to manage the various Universe's contained within the World Tree. To do that we were forced to take the worlds and place them within a recursive fail-safe program. Similar to putting your computer on Safe Mode. With me so far?"

Tsukune ignored his growing headache and nodded woodenly. He really wished Yukari were here to help him deal with this.

"Good. Now the way the program works is it takes a Universe and places it into a time loop focused around the most prominent point in its history at the time of the original Event. The duration of this period varies but in all cases it is known as a Loop. In order to make sure the original coding for the branch is safe and secured we choose the most stable individual from that period and place them as a local backup, sort of like a cache file. As a result this person, or in some cases persons, is always aware of time resetting; this is known as being Awake and the person is called the Anchor. Their only job is to stay alive and not do anything to make our jobs harder. As long as they don't do something monumentally stupid, such as dying, the Loop stays safe and they can basically do whatever they want. If they crash the Loop however there are methods we have for punishments. Try to avoid those."

Tsukune gulped nervously. He wasn't sure what was meant by 'punishments' and he would rather not know.

"The only other thing an Anchor needs to do is prevent themselves from Ascending. Sometimes there are methods to ascend to a higher plane naturally within a Loop, but intentionally trying to end the Loops entirely by Ascending - with a capital A - to the level we Admins are on is absolutely forbidden. Ascension without fail results in the destruction of the Universe by the one Ascending, and with the state Yggdrasil is currently in could possibly end all of existence. **Don't. Do. It.** When the system is eventually fixed it'll be a different story, but until then just leave it alone."

Tsukune by this point was well and truly warned, and more than a little frightened by the deceptively beautiful Goddess. During that last bit she had momentarily given off an aura similar to the one Inner Moka had whenever she dealt with Saito. Only far, far more intense. Suffice it to say that he no longer doubted the blonde's divinity and would be doing his best to avoid irritating Freya any time soon.

"Besides the Anchors, there are also others whom can be activated as Loopers. The degree of likelihood for whether they will Awaken depends on several factors but mostly upon how close they are to the Anchor personally. However you should be aware that for some reason that rarely translates to parents or parental figures. In most cases an Activation is authorized by the God or Goddess in charge, their Admin, but occasionally Yggdrasil itself will make the decision without input. That was the case with you, and in a roundabout way with your lovers. Since we only just discovered your Branch's activation we weren't available to make the call on your girls, but now that we know what's going on it won't be as simple as just spending a single Loop with them. Too many new Loopers at one time is actually almost as destabilizing as not enough. So say goodbye to that little shortcut. We can't remove it completely since it's been hard-coded into your Branch, but it won't be a simple one and done thing anymore."

Tsukune was fine with that. He already had everyone he _really_ needed, he could survive if they were all he got. It was already far more than he had ever expected when he first came to the Academy.

"You should know, you won't always be stuck in you original Branch. Because of your unexpected Activation we weren't able to set it up properly, but now you should expect that every once in awhile you'll Awake in a different world than the one you're used to. This may be as simple as a change in the history, otherwise known as a Variant, or as major as having entirely new details from other Branches mixed in, otherwise known as a Fused Loop. While a Variant is much more common it is less drastic than Fused Loops in which, as the name implies, two or more Branches are Fused into one for the Loop's duration. You may find yourself with an entirely new history or set of abilities. You should get into the habit of always checking your memories for anything unusual first thing every Loop. Additionally you should learn how to send what is referred to as a Ping, you'll find information on how to do that in the manual along with other basic skills like the Pocket which will let you carry items with you past the end of a Loop.

"Other than that I think I've covered everything but just in case you should probably spend some time studying the book I gave you, it will fill you in on anything else I missed. Now normally you'd be stuck in a Punishment Loop for crashing your last Loop, but this one time I'm going to let that go. You actually did us a pretty big favor even if you didn't realize it. By managing to avoid crashing your Loop for so long you made our job just that much easier.

"You still need to get some kind of punishment though so I'm going to give you a slap on the wrist so to speak. As I said your Loop's activation went unnoticed for a long time, so right now your Branch is being caught up on the Fused Loops it should have normally been given. Your girls have been temporarily coded as Traveling Loopers, which means they'll be visiting several other Branches for awhile. Until then you'll have to stay here and wait. I think you'll probably be on your own for about double, maybe triple the time you usually are before you'll see them again."

She grinned mischievously and ran her finger down Tsukune's cheek. "But a tough guy like you can handle that can't you?" Again, Tsukune was grateful that none of his girls were around to see this.

Chuckling merrily Freya stepped into her chariot, her two cats stepping into place at the head, before turning to speak one last time. "You may want to hurry though, don't want to miss your first day of school." With a crack of the reins she flew off into the air with a laugh, leaving Tsukune to panic over how late he was.

* * *

1.2 - (Detective Ethan Redfield)

[Gurren Lagann]

Memories flooded the two Loopers almost mid-stride. It was like vertigo for a moment, you didn't know which end was up and it always sucked. "Bro," Simon began, "remind me why we tried combining Spiral Teleportation with the Anti-Spiral Big Bang Storm again?"

Kamina placed his arm around his younger brother and held the other up to the roof of the bunker they were now in, "Isn't it obvious, Simon?! We're men, and we'll do anything we can to destroy the ceilings placed over us. It's our duty since the formation of team Dai-Gurren to break free from all chains that hold us down! Using their own weapon and our teleportation, we would move our entire universe back into the normal time flow."

Simon deadpanned, "Instead, we somehow managed to destroy all of time and space."

Kamina would not let his spirits be dampened, "Don't give me that, Simon! No matter how many Eiken Loops we have to go through, we'll someday find a way to escape the Loops. Now, let's go find my woman!"

Little did they know that the goddesses running Yggdrasil had set up special contingencies just for the Gurren Lagann Loops to prevent catastrophic system failure based on their destructive actions alone.

Kamina and Simon turned to exit the bunker when an air raid siren sounded. Countless people rushed past them in fear while the two Loopers took no note of them. Kamina bellowed, "Who's causing that noise! The great Kamina demands that it cease at once!"

The older of the two picked up the pace, drawing his prized katana from his pocket hammerspace dimension, intent on beating the hell out of the moron sounding that alarm. Over the wail, the crackling of flak guns couldn't be heard. Simon seemed a bit more nervous, "Uh, bro, I don't think this is another Eiken Loop."

Kamina paused his pursuit of the siren and looked himself over, noting a torn military uniform, "Hmm...true. Seems we might be in some sort of military."

He looked over to Simon and gave a shit-eating grin, "Think we're in another Command and Conquer Loop? Playing as Empire of the Rising Sun was a blast."

A minute later, the two were out of the bunker. Their first sight when exiting was a multicolored barrier a little under four miles away with a sea spanning the distance between them. However, what they could tell was that it was enormous. It made them forget about the siren they had come up to stop.

Around them, countless anti-air batteries continued to fire away on an unknown foe overhead, making the two of them look to the sky. If the barrier gave them pause, countless pegasi descending like dive bombers caused their brains to shut down for a moment. It was in that moment that their Loop Memories returned.

Simon pinched his nose as a headache started forming, "Well, damn."

It was moments later that glass jars filled with colorful purple liquid dropped like rain.

Yes, the goddesses of Yggdrasil had set contingencies for the abnormally destructive nature that was the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Loop. Entire galaxies in the prime universe were used as weapons after all. Those contingencies meant sending them into a Fused Loop in order to give time to reboot their universe. Unfortunately, those contingencies just couldn't handle the stress of all of time and space collapsing.

* * *

1.3

[Kill la Kill/Highschool DxD]

"Let me get this straight. You're telling me that the main villains of this Loop are a hot blonde and a bonafide MILF who get their power from clothing?"

Satsuki frowned as the brown haired boy who had Replaced one of her Elite Four repeated her words, albeit in a manner which left a sour taste in her mouth. "That is correct, although the idea of anyone referring to Ragyou as a ...MILF is rather distasteful and I would greatly prefer you not do so again."

The current Replacement to her Athletic Committee Chair however seemed to not have heard her, as a perverted leer spread across his face. "I love this Loop! Destiny here I come!"

With that Issei Sanegeyama, wearer of the Sacred Gear Regalia, ran ecstatically from the Student Council office laughing in a highly disturbing way.

"Madam, I fear we may have unleashed a devil upon the Academy."

Satsuki sighed, before taking a sip of her tea; allowing the once unpleasant but now greatly enjoyed brew to soothe her nerves. "Delicious as always Soroi. You may be correct, the Academy may be unprepared to face the likes of the Red Dragon Emperor."

A smirk broke out upon her face. "However I can't help but wonder how well Ragyou and Nui Harime will fare against this particular foe."

Years of self-control and discipline allowed the faithful servant to control the blush which threatened to work its way across his face. But only barely.

"Yes, quite. I imagine it will be a short fight. Will you be needing anything else My Lady?"

Satsuki shook her head, ignoring the shrieks of feminine outrage echoing from the halls. "No thank you Soroi, that will be all."

"As you say, Madam."

Only once her loyal ally had left, did Satsuki allow herself the luxury of a brief laugh. It was a shame Ryūko wasn't here this Loop. She'd have to get pictures of the event to show her sister later, for now she was content to simply enjoy the relative peace for once.

"Satsuki! What the heck is going on with the stupid Monkey?!"

Satsuki gave an ironic smile. Well it was nice while it lasted.

* * *

1.4

[Familiar of Zero/Hellsing]

Louise coughed as the cloud of smoke from her summoning washed over her. Another Loop, another explosion. While it was always interesting to see what new Familiar she had summoned, the reversion from respected Mage and Crown Princess to Louise the Zero was an unfortunate side-effect. Speaking of which the first line of taunting should be beginning any moment now.

"By the founder, what is that?!"

Louise blinked. Okay, not what she had expected but it meant that she probably hadn't summoned Saito this time. So who did she get this time?

"It's a body, Louise summoned a dead body!"

"That's a new low even for her."

"Can that even be called a Familiar?"

"I bet she killed him with her explosive summons."

"No, look at it. It's been dead for a long time."

"Who cares about that. I got hit with a flying rock from Louise's summoning. I'm bleeding. Shut up about the stupid mummy."

Louise clenched her fists. "Shut up! Don't you have any respect for the dead?! Even if I messed up, that's no excuse for acting like a bunch of-of"

 _-_ _ **Monsters.-**_

The collected group of students fell back in shock as the supposed corpse's voice echoed horribly around the courtyard. No one had noticed, but when they hadn't been paying attention the Familiar had moved; crouched over the ground near the last student who had spoke. As the terrified boy watched in horror, the creature's tongue stretched out and licked up the meager drops of blood which had been spilt.

Abruptly he straightened, his body moving in ways no normal creature should accompanied by the crack of bone and cartilage as he jerked upright. Then he threw his head back and laughed. And laughed. And kept laughing as he covered his face with one hand and stared with a dark grin at Louise.

To her credit the relatively young Looper. met his crimson gaze with only slight hesitation. The person grinned, and then without warning he was standing directly above her; having not appeared to move, yet somehow crossing the entire field.

Falling to her back at his sudden appearance, Louise stared into the depths of his gaze; forcing herself not to break the deadlock. He grinned.

"So then, you who have summoned me. I take you would think to call yourself my Master. I have but one Master, and you are not she. What is your name, little one."

Louise swallowed around her dry mouth and spoke; clearly, precisely and purposefully. "My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, third daughter of the noble house of Vallière. You are my Familiar and you will know your place you dog!"

The figure was silent, his grin growing wider with every passing second; before he threw his head back and laughed again. "Magnificent, truly magnificent. Humans are such interesting creatures. Very well Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, third daughter of the noble house of Vallière; a dog am I? So be it, if I am to be a dog then it is only fitting that I have a Mistress of character to hold my leash. And if I am to represent nobility, perhaps a change of attire is appropriate."

His body seemed to shimmer, shifting unnaturally at the edges and growing hazy. When he re-solidified, his tattered black straightjacket and leggings had formed into a crimson charcoal suit with an intricately knotted cravat, leather riding boots, a frock overcoat and cape, and a wide brimmed fedora. Upon his hands he wore a pair of white gloves with a runic symbol of a type Louise didn't recognize and his inhuman eyes were also covered by a pair of circular, heavily tinted, wire-framed orange sunglasses with sidings.

Sweeping low he performed an elegant bow before the stunned gaze of Louise. "The Bird of Hermes is my name, eating my wings to keep myself tame. I am Alucard, the No-Life King. I am Awakened. How may I serve you, my Mistress?"

Louise blinked stupidly for a moment, taking in the stunned silence of the courtyard. Even Zerbst, incorrigible loud-mouth that she was, had nothing to say. (Although that likely had more to do with her attempts to undress her Familiar with her eyes than anything else.) Even Mr. Colbert was shocked into inaction, his hands gripped tightly upon his staff but otherwise unmoving. Stiff as a statue even, his eyes locked piercingly upon Alucard with an eagle's gaze; the eyes of a soldier who recognized death come calling.

Louise took all that in, along with Alucard's words, before speaking. "Professor Colbert, I think I should complete the ritual and Anchor my Familiar."

Colbert didn't blink or turn his gaze from Alucard as he replied. "That would likely be for the best Ms. Vallière. In fact I would suggest you not hesitate."

Louise nodded and closed her eyes as her magic gathered. "Pentagon of the five elemental powers; bless this humble being, and make him my familiar." Reaching up she grabbed Alucard's cravat, and standing upon the tips of her toes she kissed him to seal their contract.

Alucard raised an eyebrow, his grin undiminished; before bringing his hand up to his sight. Removing the glove he watched in fascination as several runes were emblazoned upon his visible flesh. "Fascinating."

Straightening to his full height, he gazed down upon his pink-haired Mistress. She was no Integra, but perhaps given time... well who knew. "Shall we be off Mistress? I'm sure we have much to discuss. The scent of war is in the air, diminished but fragrant nonetheless." He grinned, a twisted mockery of a smile. "It will bloom soon enough, and as my Mistress I'm sure you will make full use of your servant."

Louise grimaced at the reminder of Albion's coming battle with the Reconquista. She hadn't yet managed to find a way to prevent the coming war, but she wasn't going to stop. For Queen Henrietta, for the country of Tristain, for her friends and family and for her honor she couldn't. She would fight when the time came; just as she had always done, and as she always would.

As if sensing her resolve, Alucard's grin grew inhumanely. He gave a brief chuckle, which soon gave way to a slow laugh, until finally he had surrendered to his amusement and his mad laughter echoed around the courtyard; sending chills down the spine of all of those watching. A single thought echoing through all of their heads:

 _'What kind of monster had Louise the Zero summoned?'_

-x-X-x-

Alucard stood across from the foppish boy who had challenged him to a duel. Guiche de Gramont, a sniveling child playing at romance. It was hardly Alucard's fault if the boy had failed to keep it in his pants, and allowed himself to be caught whispering sweet nothings into the ears of a second woman by the first. He chuckled as he idly twirled a small bottle of perfume between his fingers. Nope, not his fault at all.

"So Familiar, I'm impressed you actually came. You have sullied my honor and that of my beloved Montmorency and for that you cannot be forgiven. I admit your parlor tricks had me fooled alongside the rest of my classmates, but you are still just a commoner. No match for a Noble such as myself. But I'm feeling gracious, if you bow your head and beg my forgiveness I suppose I can allow you to leave."

Alucard simply grinned and remained silent.

Guiche narrowed his brow and scoffed. "So be it. Do you have any final words Familiar?"

Alucard chuckled. "A commoner you say. How pitiful you are, hiding yourself behind the trappings of nobility and calling yourself a man. You are no man, you are but a boy playing pretend. So come on, have I not spat upon your honor? Have I not defiled your good name? Show me Guiche de Gramont, show me your resolve. If you would lay down your judgment upon me, then stand. Stand and fight, and die for the honor you claim to hold precious." Throwing his arms out to the side, he left himself wide open. "Your target is clear, so strike!"

Guiche's gut clenched at the sight of the mad man before him, his eyes darting back and forth across the gathered students. He hadn't expected Louise's Familiar to meet his challenge, and now that he had Guiche was forced to either fight or submit and look a coward in front of his peers. Swallowing heavily he steeled his resolve, and met his opponents eyes. He flinched.

Nevertheless he couldn't back down now, and so with a wave of the artificial rose which served as his wand he called forth his magic; a feminine figure rising from the ground in a ring of light.

"My Name is Guiche the Brass. therefore a brass golem — a Valkyrie to be precise — will be your opponent."

Alucard smirked widely. "Is that so. A Valkyrie. Just one? Is that all your honor is worth to you? A single toy puppet?"

His brow twitching Guiche summoned two more golems to stand alongside the first. "Three then. I will not lower myself to using my full might against a commoner, be grateful."

With a laugh, Alucard met Guiche's gaze eagerly. In the next moment the Valkyries charged, the ground beneath their feet cratering as they advance. Alucard never moved. Even as they ran him through, his blood spattering the ground and staining the earth, he remained standing with his arms thrown wide and a grin upon his face; staring into Guiche's horrified eyes.

For a moment the courtyard was silent, then the students began screaming. As Guiche fell limply to his knees, staring traumatized at his victim, Louise finally managed to make her way to the scene. She had allowed herself to believe that someone like Alucard would be above accepting Guiche's taunting, and only too late did she find out about the duel. Staring in disbelief at her skewered Familiar she cursed herself for not preventing the fight in the first place. Stupid, stupid, stupid. It was practically an unwritten rule of the Loops. Guiche always challenged her Familiar to a fight, no matter who they were. And they always accepted. She had thought just this once... maybe someone would have enough brains in their head to say no!

"Alucard!" Louise's tearful cry was loud enough to cut through the uproar of the panicking students, drawing her several pitying looks. However, abruptly the air grew heavy and all eyes were drawn to the center of the courtyard where the two fighters still stood. The wind blew ominously, and despite the perfect weather it felt as though the sun had hidden its face.

 _ **-hahahahHaHaHAHAHAHAHAHAH!-**_

"Is that all you have Guiche de Gramont? Such a shame." In a flash of motion, the Valkyries impaling Alucard fell to scrap around him. His form wavered, shifting and twisting unnaturally, bathed in shadows despite the noon sun; only his crimson eyes and fanged grin visible. "My turn."

Faster than the student body could react the ground surrounding Alucard all the way to the far wall and beyond was torn asunder, ripped from its bed in the earth and reduced to rubble. In the center, surrounded by upturned rocks and stone in a perfect outline of his body, Guiche lay immobile; terrified beyond thought or motion as Alucard walked towards him.

"You should be grateful, I chose not to lower myself to using my full might against you. I hardly need to explain just how lucky you are. But your luck's just run out."

Staring with wide eyes as death approached, Guiche payed no mind to the tears running down his face; his sole thought being the knowledge that he was going to die; and the wish to live. However his gaze, and that of everyone else's, was drawn away at the sound of a shout from the sidelines. Standing with her fists clenched at her side, shaking with tension, Louise stared down the demon which sought to end his life.

"That's enough Alucard! You've proven your point. I order you to stop, heel you stupid dog!"

All was still, before Alucard grinned and laughed. "As you wish my Mistress, if you say this boy should live then I obey." Turning to face Guiche again with a mocking grin, he spoke one last time. "Remember this day Guiche the Brass, you faced a monster and lived to see the light of a new morning. Remember to thank my Mistress, she saved your life."

While Alucard turned and bowed at Louise's feet, accepting of her anger without complaint, Guiche sank his head to the ground bonelessly; his heart desperately trying to escape from his chest.

Suddenly without warning his head was knocked to the side, and then again, as Montmorency slapped him fiercely; tears in her eyes. "You stupid moron. Don't you ever do something that stupid again!"

Guiche shuddered. She didn't need to worry, once was one time to many to come face to face with a monster; he wasn't eager to repeat the experience. And may the Founder have mercy on anyone who was so unlucky as to fight against Louise de la Vallière, because the Familiar of Zero would not be denied a second time.

* * *

1.5 - (Tabac Iberez)

[Girls und Panzer]

Admin Space

Sitting at her computer, Skuld sighed happily. It had been a full half hour since something had gone horribly wrong! Leaning back for just a second, Skuld stretched out languidly, de-tensing for a second. Kicking up her feet, both landed on the desk with a light thunk, and she closed her eyes.

As if the universe had decided that this was too good to exist, a chain of events that would put Rube Goldberg to shame begun. Balanced precipitously on a thirty-six can pile of Monsters, an old coffee mug full of pencils and pens tumbled down. One of the erasers, made of new "Never-Run-Out Synthetic UberRubber" started bouncing around the room like a piece of shrapnel. Two pens hit the keyboard shortcut for "Server Audit". The eraser, somehow gaining momentum, knocked the perilous tower of Monster cans into the desk's workspace, one hitting the pens on the keyboard, which pushed the omega, epsilon, ehwaz, and mu keys. This opened up the RAM subsystem. As the can rolled off, it bumped a pencil over the first paste key, slapping a chunk of code down related to identifying memory leaks. The rest of the pile of cans fell onto a pile of trash trying to creep out of the can. Another can, rolling off the impromptu ramp hit the still-bouncing eraser, catching it's energy and undergoing a 95% momentum transfer. The can, now trying to hit Mach 1 with all it's might, hit a wall with enough to rattle the ceiling light, which dropped a dust ball the size of Fenir's head. Said dust ball hit the keyboard smack on the ENTER key, activating the unholy mess that had been created.

This occurred inside a space of time approximately even to a human's sneeze. Skuld groaned, looked at the carnage, and promptly dialed the cleaning department to take her off the blacklist and clean her office, or else she would put the fear of Yggdrasil into them. Grabbing her "Out For Lunch" sign, she put the computer into Sleep mode and left.

-x-X-x-

As Miho Nishizumi walked home after the party that had followed their heroic win over Black Forest Peak, she saw a shooting star. Smiling, she wished it well as she made her way to her bed. She was bone-tired, and needed to sleep or she would be worse than Mako come morning! Getting into her apartment, she got into her pajamas, and fell into bed. Sleep came shortly after.

-x-X-x-

In Skuld's office and computer, the series of unfortunate events that had started with an unguarded moment of relaxation continued apace. The cleaning tech, who had been scared to the quick of Skuld, had been fixing the light when he fell off his step stool, and dropped onto the desk. The mess created by his retreat from the High Altar of the Queen of the Debug, and woe to thee who disturbed it. Putting it to rights, he saw a dangerous sign.

NEW LOOP INITIATED. CONFIRM?

Hitting YES, he made sure the diagram looked less Eldritch before abandoning the fell computer to its own devices. Doing an excellent job with the rest of the office, he finished and ran for the hills.

Returning to her office after her lunch break, Skuld cracked her knuckles and got down to work. Most of her job entitled either directing her hordes of debuggers to spackle cracks in the code while she managed the take. The remainder was her grabbing the metaphorical gun and plugging the holes herself. Admittedly, if she had to do that, things were getting bad. As in, "Catastrophic, Admin was in the can having a smoke while their computer burned" bad. After a few minutes, though, Skuld was noticing a trend. Most of the issues she was finding were physics issues. After a quick call to the Hell Desk to tell Fenrir that parts of the Improbable Island physics engine were shedding again, she buckled down for the normal spat of BS that flooded in after about 1500, which was when the server hit max load as all the other Admins had finished their siestas and tried to work.

That's when her phone started ringing.

"Ma'am, we're losing RAM batteries by the dozen!" a panicked voice called from the depths of Servers.

"What's knocking them out? Another of Jörmungandr's Timey-Wimey things dropped on a server that didn't have the patch?"

"No, Ma'am! This is core RAM batteries! We're looking at having to shut down Admin access if this keeps up!"

Skuld hissed. Core RAM was what modeled any Admin changes to an in-progress Loop. Once the patch was modeled, it could be seamlessly applied. Cracking open her RAM interface, Skuld spat like a cat dropped in a water barrel. The entire system had been plagued with memory leaks. Hitting the "Massive Shite" button on her intercom, she growled as her minions started hunting down the Goldberg of Ooopsies.

-x-X-x-

Sitting up in her bed, Miho yawned. It was a new day, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, the alarm clock wasn't beeping...

Crap!

Scurrying with the speed of a professional, Miho got herself and her apartment shipshape and scrambled for the main building of Ooari Academy. It wouldn't due to be late on her first day! Wait? Where did that thought come from? Ignoring it, Miho rushed to school. Late was late was late was Sodoko railing at her because the Captain of the Tankery team should never dare be late...

-x-X-x-

Hitting her head on her desk in frustration, Skuld let loose an Eldritch sound. The RAM banks were being occupied by something with higher priority than her, and nobody was using them. Therefore, the tree was up to tricks. Meanwhile, it was approaching Hour 14 of the fiasco, and her debuggers had discovered they were bailing a paper-mache canoe with stone buckets. Throw a little water out, knock a hole to let more in. Grabbing her next can of Red Bull, Skuld rolled her shoulders and got back into the fray. As far as she could tell, SOMETHING was locking up the ram banks because it couldn't get anywhere else where it could do it's thing better.

Arriving, Miho waved to Sodoko, who just frowned at her. Shrugging, she got to class and started getting ready. Afterwords, however, she was confused. They were all acting as if this was their first time meeting each other. Didn't they know about how she had won the Tankery tournament, and that their school was saved? Shrugging, she moved to get up. Inexplicably, her pencil bag fell off her desk. Shrugging, she went down to pick it up. Coming back up, she heard a friendly and familiar voice talking to her.

"Hey, you want to go out to lunch?"

Not turning very much she responded. "Sure, Saori. Give me a minute, though. I think one of my pencils rolled away..."

A frowning expression appeared on Saori's face. "Do we know another?"

"Saori, stop joking around, will you please? I'm your tank commander- of course you know me!"

"But... ahm..."

Turning fully around, Miho looked at Saori, and the until-now silent Hana.

"Hana, Saori, you have to stop this joke. I swear, today's exactly like the first day I was here..."

Looking at a hanging calendar, Miho smiled.

"See? It's already past the end of... Tankery... season..."

Hanging there was the date for the first day of school. Turning back to Saori and Hana, Miho gulped and said in a very small voice something that scared her. "You don't remember me, do you."

Hana answered, concerned. "I know your last name is Nishizumi, and you looked lonely, but..."

Miho fell onto her desk. "If you don't remember me, do you at least remember Anglerfish-san? Either of you?"

Both of them shook their heads.

Miho made a small eep. "I think... I think we can go to lunch. And maybe the Nurse's office, later. I need to clear my head..."

-x-X-x-

In the depths of Skuld's growing monument to the powers of caffeine and aggravation, she roared triumphantly!

"I found the root issue, you slimy (CENSORED CENSORED CENSORED THAT'S PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE CENSORED). It's a new Loop! Now, who initiated it without telling me?!"

The screen told her, in mocking voice.

"Well, crap."

* * *

1.6 - (OracleMask)

[.Hack/Soul Eater]

Haseo stared up at the building. And up, and up...

"Are those _candles_ sticking out?" he asked, incredulous.

"Of course they are," the blond in pigtails standing next to him replied.

She sounded amused by his reaction, which was probably just as well. Maka Albarn was, as she described it, the Anchor for this universe and therefore the one person Haseo had to not piss off. Bad enough when it was just looping through time in his own universe, but now Haseo was in a new universe and now all bets were off. Still, it beat getting killed in increasingly annoying ways as he continued to fail to get to the end of his own original life – and a book thumped painfully into his skull as Maka decided Haseo had ignored her long enough.

"Enough with the damn chopping already," Haseo growled, rubbing his head.

"Enough with the spacing out, then!" Maka countered, "We've got a lot of work to do!"

Hearing Maka's explanation about meisters and weapons was one thing. But seeing the girl turn into a scythe in front of him, Haseo thought, was pretty damn surreal.

"Are you...always a scythe?" Haseo asked.

Maka's voice was tinny and distant from inside the blade of the scythe.

"Normally I'm the meister, not the demon weapon," Maka admitted, "But I have a common Loop Variant where I inherited demon weapon powers from Poppa, and after living it enough times, it stuck."

Well that didn't make this any less weird. Haseo shrugged, and tried picking Maka's scythe-body up. A problem became apparent immediately.

"Ugh! What the hell are you made of?! You're way too heavy!"

"Demon weapons have to synchronize soul wavelengths with their meisters before they can be used!" Maka scolded, "Didn't your Loop Memories say anything about that? You're lucky I'm not burning your hands off right now!"

" _Lucky_ , says the twenty-ton scythe," Haseo grunted.

His arms were screaming in protest now, muscles straining and joints aching as Haseo fought a losing battle to keep from dropping Maka.

"Shut up and channel your soul wavelength already."

It was really disturbing to do soul resonance. More than once Haseo felt the familiar surge of Skeith beginning to manifest itself – only for a zap from Maka's soul to drive Skeith back into dormancy. Every time she did it, it gave Haseo a splitting headache. Complaining about it netted Haseo exactly zero points of sympathy.

Even when their soul resonance reached 'acceptable' levels, Haseo found new reasons to complain. His scythe-using skills were, according to Maka, 'below pathetic' and she refused to let him go anywhere until she deemed them passable.

Calling her a slave-driver tended to result in Haseo getting Maka-chopped.

Through blood, sweat, tears, blunt trauma via book, and a lot of cursing, Haseo and Maka had managed to collect 99 kishin eggs. Fighting like this was definitely a new challenge for Haseo – back in his home Loop, the battles were all done in-game. Those battles still hurt like hell, of course, but the amount of actual _physical_ skill needed to fight was pretty low.

Here, the battles were in real life and Haseo had a good chance of being permanently maimed or killed if he screwed up. While he was not going to regret going back to his nice, safe (not really) online game after this, Haseo couldn't help but admit to seeing the appeal of real combat.

What he didn't see any appeal to was Blair's offer. Maka did seem to think he'd take it, which almost made Haseo agree to it just out of spite. He at least pretended to consider it, if only to hear Maka sputtering.

Besides, Pi's were bigger.

All of Maka's warnings about their new opponent faded from his mind as Haseo stared at the pink-haired...person in front of him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Crona asked, nervously.

"Because I can't tell if you're a boy or a girl," Haseo admitted, seeing no reason not to be blunt.

"Does it matter?" Maka asked from inside her scythe-form.

"Kinda, yeah!" Haseo retorted, "It's going to bug me for the entire fight otherwise!"

"You...don't know how to deal with it?" Crona said, "Oh no...I don't know how to deal with someone who doesn't know how to deal with something like that..."

"You just stab them, you idiot!" Crona's black sword shouted.

Maka found herself sitting in the infirmary watching over two patients. One was the idiot Looper who'd Replaced Soul for this Loop, Haseo. He'd missed a block while fighting Crona and been stabbed fairly deeply by Ragnarok. The good news was that it hadn't hit anything vital. And the black blood hadn't gotten too deeply inside him before the demon Haseo called Skeith woke up and ate it.

The other bed contained Crona, who'd discovered first-hand that Skeith really didn't _care_ if Crona's blood was black...which it no longer was, again thanks to Skeith's apparently voracious appetite and weird powers. Crona still being alive afterward was probably a miracle.

At least Maka could take comfort that this twist was sure to make the rest of the Loop _very_ interesting.

* * *

1.7 - (Leviticus Wilkes)

[Neon Genesis Evangelion]

The dojo was specially reinforced. The floors and walls and roof could contain a multi-megaton nuclear explosion. The paint was impeccable.

Asuka usually trashed it anyway. Today would be no exception.

Rei pulled a white fan from her sleeve and opened it. "Ready?"

On one side of the room, dressed in her plug suit, Asuka fell into a long fencer's stance, her personal sword Artemis Bleed leveled at her opponents. "Ready!"

Across from her, Gendo ignited his lightsaber, the red light cackling unstably. A flicker of orange light off of her left hand heralded the phase shift of his still minor AT Field. "Ready."

Next to him, Misato transformed her grenade launcher hammer, Magnhildr, into it's hammer form. The mechanisms snapped into place easily and the long hammer fell lightly into her grip. "Ready."

Rei closed the fan, flipped it over, and opened the red side. "BEGIN!"

Misato and Gendo shot like cannonballs at Asuka, rocketing across the hardwood floor. Asuka knocked Magnhildr off course and above her head before reversing her grip on Artemis Bleed and stopping Gendo's lightsaber. She ducked a swing from his AT Field armored hand and lashed out at Misato's ankle, sending the over balanced woman to her knees. Turning to Gendo, Asuka lashed out and kicked him in the face, sending him flying into the distant wall. As Misato collapsed Magnhildr, Asuka reached down, flicked the safety on, and then grabbed Misato and sent her flying as well.

This battle lasted five seconds.

Asuka chuckled as sheathed Artemis Bleed. "Not half bad Misato. Good try with Magnhildr, but be a little quicker on the draw next time."

"Sure..." Misato drawled as she dropped the hammer/grenade launcher into her subspace pocket. Gendo declined comment and simply phased his lightsaber into his pocket.

Kneeling on the edge of the carpet, Shinji sipped a cup of ginseng tea. "You know, I think you two are getting better. That was a lot longer than when you started."

Misato grumbled something unintelligible. Gendo grabbed a cup and poured himself some tea. "Should I take honey with this or..."

"Try rat shit, I heard it's delicious with Shinji's cooking," Asuka retorted. To herself, Rei snorted, drawing incredulous looks. Gendo rolled his eyes and got a dollop of honey for his tea.

Misato glanced at Artemis Bleed. "So..."

"Nope."

"Come on Asuka!" Misato whined. "You say you've had that sword for millennia! It's supposed to be the oldest sword in the Multiverse. How come you won't tell me how you made it?"

Asuka rolled her eyes. "First, it's not the oldest sword in the Multiverse, that honor goes to Ichigo's Zanpakuto. Secondly, this isn't even the first Artemis Bleed, or even the fifteenth. Thirdly, I'm not telling you because you tried to seduce Shinji."

Misato blushed. "I was drunk, alright."

Shinji lowered his tea cup. "Asuka, please don't hold it against Misato. It's not her fault I'm the cutest fourteen year old in history."

"WHAT!?" Asuka screeched. "HOW DARE YOU! I'M THE CUTEST AND YOU KNOW IT!"

"YOU CANNOT HANDLE THIS LEVEL OF CUTE!" Shinji roared back. Instantly, he began to sparkle. "BEHOLD THE BISHONEN SPARKLE!"

"BISHOJO SPARKLE, ACTIVATE!"

Gendo clicked his tongue. Misato chuckled. "So... they always like this?"

Rei broke from her fond staring to glance back at Misato. Had Misato been a little more versed in Rei's subdued mannerisms, she may have caught the depth and meaning behind her smile. As it was, all she saw was one of the rare Ayanami grins. "Yes. Yes they have."

* * *

1.8 - (Nuebattles)

[Cardcaptor Sakura]

For the first time, Sakura Kinomoto Woke up.

She smiled, sitting up and looking at her desk at where the bear Syaoran gave her... wasn't. Shooting out of bed, she pulled out Kero's 'room.' He'd know where it was, right?!

Kero's room wasn't there. The drawer was filled with all her old stuff, the things she got rid of or put elsewhere to make room. Her Sakura Cards weren't where she left them, either, and with that came the sinking realization that her Key wasn't around her neck.

She sat numbly, turning her head to the clock, suddenly shrieking at the time. She was going to be late! Kero and Big Brother were probably just playing a mean prank, and she'd yell at him once she got ready for school and down to eat. They could be such jerks.

But as she sped down, she looked at the whiteboard with the schedules for the day. The date was right... For three years ago, the day she discovered the Clow Cards. Actually, the schedules were the same as then too.

Could it be RETURN? No, there'd be a second Sakura. TIME? No, it can't go this far back. Her heart raced as she stared at the board, ignoring Toya calling her a monster, which really worried him. She always rose to the bait.

But not today. Today, she ate quickly, and sped out right after him, not even turning the slightest bit red at seeing Yukito. Her head was racing at the possibilities, her face going paler and paler as a thought occurred to her.

What if it was all a dream? What if it was a premonition, or worse, never going to happen? She might never meet Meiling or Kero or Yue or Eriol or... or Syaoran. Clow Reed might never even have existed. All the Sakura Cards... They were her friends and they might never have been real in the first place. She'd have to find out. She'd have to find the book of Clow Cards. After school, she'd find it, she hoped.

Unbeknownst to her, her quietness was noticed by her brother and Yukito. Toya could sense an immense power fluctuation in her. She wasn't the same as when she went to sleep.

-x-X-x-

Sakura was so relieved to find the Book. But it wasn't her Book. It was Clow's. Kero was still on the cover even! She really had gone back in time. This was too much... But...

Opening the book and looking at her oldest friend, WINDY, she couldn't help but smile through tears and read it aloud. Which, really, she should have known better; having lived through it before.

The Cards scattered, Kero introduced himself in his bombastic way, and Sakura knew everything would be alright.

* * *

1.9 - (Krisoverstreet)

[The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]

Most of the Loopers I've met can't remember their first Loop with any clarity. I don't mean remembering their pre-Loop baseline. I mean, most people don't have a clear memory of the first time they realized they were repeating the same bit of their life over again. That first Loop tends to blur together with memories of other early Loops when the Loopers experimented, went wild, went insane, and pulled themselves back to something that could pass for sanity in a good light.

But I will always remember my first Loop.

A large part of it is because I'd experienced Looping before, in that endless summer, even though my memories didn't accumulate there except as the occasional extreme attack of deja vu. My mind was prepared for the possibility. Living with Haruhi's insanity had prepared my mind for nearly anything.

So when I woke up and realized I was in my own past, without actually traveling through time, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my chance to live things over again.

And the very first thing I wanted to do set the tone for the rest of that Loop.

I stood up on the first day of class and introduced myself, giving my name and my former middle school.

"My friends call me Kyon, though I wish they wouldn't. I am an absolutely normal and ordinary human being. If there are any aliens, time travelers, or espers, come see me. That is all!"

As I sat down I looked at the face of the girl seated behind me. I shall treasure the pure shock and surprise in that face for as long as I shall live, and it lasted a good five seconds. Then she smiled, looking at me as if to inform me that she couldn't wait for the first opportunity to get even with me.

"Oh God," I heard Taniguchi mutter, "there's two of them."

An ordinary person is of course no match for Haruhi Suzumiya, much less a rival. But a Looper? That's a different story.

* * *

1.1 – Welcome to the party. Better late than never... right?

1.2 – Remember kids, if you break the Universe you'll get attacked by magical xenophobic technicolor ponies!

1.3 – Beware the Oppai Dragon.

1.4 – The No-Life King in Halkegenia? Founder save us all.

1.5 – Drive me closer! I want to hit them with my Moe.

1.6 - .Hack/DWMA

1.7 – You Can (NOT) Stay Sane

1.8 – One Fateful Day, Redux

1.9 – Just a regular guy caught up in irregular circumstances. Situation normal, all F****d up.

* * *

Welcome to the Compilation of the Miscellaneous Anime Loops. This is a part of the growing universe known as the Infinite Loops, originally started by Innortal before being revived and restructured on Spacebattles by Saphroneth.

Here are the basics of the Infinite Loops: Every piece of published original fiction exists as it's own universe in the Multiverse contained within Yggdrasil, which has broken. Until it is fixed, everything is held in stasis via Time Loops to keep it from getting worse. ETA of final repairs: yes. The Infinite Loops is the story of the various characters caught up in the Time Loop as they deal with the problems caused by having Infinite Time on their hands. Shenanigans will inevitably ensue.

Immediately below are the rest of the basics and additional information can be found on the TvTropes, Wikia, and Spacebattles pages. Jā mate ne!

 **Loop mechanics (general)**

One person in a Loop, often the main character, is an Anchor. They are the person who first starts time looping.

There is always at least one Anchor present in a given Time Loop snippet, though it may not be the local one. The standard pattern for a loop is that the Anchor (and whoever else is Looping there) come to awareness in a loop at a particular point in the story. From there, events will play out as influenced by the Loopers present, acting with the benefit of their foreknowledge, until either a predetermined end point is reached or all the Loopers have copped it.

To be Awake is to be aware of the time loops (that is, to have gone back in time this time.) The Anchor is the only character guaranteed to be Awake. Even after others have started looping, it is mostly random as to whether they will be Awake this particular loop. Crossovers, fusions, and alternate pasts can also take place. It is perfectly possible, for example, to have the characters Awaken into a loop which conforms to a fanfic universe rather than reality.

Loops do not have to be in chronological order, but it is strongly preferred that they not require a mutually contradictory order (where A must be before B and B must be before A.)

Just about every Looper is very, very stir crazy.


	2. Chapter 2

2.1 - (Leviticus Wilkes)

[Evangelion]

It was a regular Loop for Gendo Ikari. The first thing he did was duck underneath a barrage of swords flung by Asuka, followed quickly by fleeing from Kaoru's expanding AT-field, and finally he managed to find where the doctors had stashed Rei and hide there. After that, he waited until either Shinji arrived and gave him the all-clear, or Asuka or Kaoru broke down the door and dragged him out to meet his fate.

It bore repeating: a regular Loop.

As it turned out, Shinji did show up eventually. He even managed to keep a scowl off of his face as he escorted Gendo passed the murderous duo that had come to really, really despise him. Once he and Shinji were outside, beyond the boundaries of the NERV headquarters, Gendo gave his son a customary goodbye, and left for a favored bar.

As was normal, as was common now, Gendo Ikari spent the next few weeks drinking. Gendo had been a drinking man before Yui, and once she had managed to crack into his heart, he had managed to break the vice. Now, with an eternity without Yui and with a son that hated him, Gendo's life had devolved. His day to day activities consisted of a grand, endless bar crawl. In many ways, it was Gendo's new way of life. After years of trial and error he had even gotten good at dodging Seele and NERV agents.

And so, Gendo drank, and drank, and drank. When he was done, he thanked the bartender, and left, and found another bar, where he drank again. Life, for Gendo Ikari, was at an all-time low.

It was a simple fact that, after many Loops of contemplation, trying to be antagonistic, and getting the crap beaten out of him by Asuka and Kaoru, Gendo had simply given up. He had nothing left to live for. Outside his Loop, he went through the motions, when he wasn't running from other Loopers that hated him. Drinking was his only release.

Gendo's first and so far only suicide attempt, an overdose, had actually succeeded, since none of the present Loopers had cared enough. Asuka and Kaoru had spent the Loop sneering at him, Rei hadn't reacted at all, Shinji avoided him, and Penpen rolled his eyes and drank some beer. Gendo himself had decided not to commit suicide after that: death was pointless in the Loops, and passing away in a haze wasn't quite enjoyable. The whole feeling had been...

Unsettling.

And so, Gendo drank, and lived in a haze of beer. Angels would attack Tokyo 3, the army would storm the city, great tentacle monsters would emerge from the sewers, and all Gendo did was drink. There really wasn't anything else he could do, anything that the Loopers of NERV would let him do.

This was life for Gendo Ikari.

"Pathetic."

Gendo lifted his head from the long, mahogany bar that he had fallen asleep laying against. The lights were bright, but not too bright, the sounds loud but not too loud. He wasn't drunk enough, not yet.

"Hey baka, didn't you hear me? You're pathetic."

Gendo blinked hard and looked over his shoulder. A mash of bronze and blue was standing in the doorway. Gendo concentrated enough to flush the alcohol from his system and clear up his eyesight. Asuka Langley Soryu was glaring at him with a burning hatred and disdain that only she and Kaoru could fully bring to bear. "Hello Asuka."

Asuka marched over, her aura kicking up a storm, fury developing on her face. "Don't move freak. I want to enjoy this." Asuka grabbed Gendo by the back of his shirt and threw him across the empty room, watching him crash into a dozen tables with real schadenfreude. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this... now hold still."

Gendo didn't bother to stop Asuka from grabbing him again and throwing him against the wall. Kicks, punches, all manner of bodily harm fell on Gendo. Throughout it all, the defunct director of NERV made no move to defend himself, even as Asuka's blows grew more wild and violent.

Finally, Asuka finished with a kick to the stomach. "Hn. Not a word out of you this time? Don't you know I like it when you're in pain? Pathetic and a coward." Asuka spat on Gendo and left him there, battered, broken and bruised. And then Gendo made a mistake.

Just as Asuka had grabbed the door knob on her way out, Gendo said something. "As if you're any better." Five words. Five solitary words. And Hell to pay.

Asuka froze. Seconds ticked by. Then the pilot of Unit Two began to shake, first subtly, and then violently. The door knob began to squeal as Asuka crushed it with her bare hand. Gendo got the faint impression that he had said something out of place. He managed to climb to his feet and walked into the center of the room. "Asuka..."

Asuka ripped the door off of its hinges, threw it at Gendo, and _roared_. " _ **FUCK YOU!**_ "

Gendo just manage to raise his arms to shield his face before the door slammed into him, throwing him across the room and into the racks of alcohol across the back of the bar.

Flickers of pain accompanied the removal of each shard of glass from Gendo's back. His mind freed from the cloud of alcohol that had suffused it earlier, Gendo felt each shard twitching in his back acutely. The only solace he found was that of knowing that Rei was doing her best to remove each shard, which is to say, perfectly.

Neither spoke of why Gendo had gone to Rei. They both knew that Rei didn't care for Gendo, didn't even consider him human, but for whatever reason, Rei still helped him, and did not hurt him. In Gendo's mind, it was almost as bad as Asuka and Kaoru's frequent assaults. At least they came back to Gendo: Rei didn't even give him that courtesy.

Speaking of Kaoru...

"Rei! Oh come on. I just gassed this chainsaw, and here you are playing operation on Gendo?" Kaoru strolled into the room without a care in the world, a large chainsaw slung over his shoulder. "Seriously girl, I just got this sweetheart."

Gendo twisted his neck as much as his spine would allow so as to get a better view of Kaoru Nagisa. In this Loop, as Kaoru would often do, he had been assigned by Seele to monitor the pilots early, rather than engage himself as a pilot. Gendo assumed that Kaoru had done it simply to have an excuse to attack him regularly.

Rei, for her own measure of reaction, remained focused on Gendo's back, extracting the embedded glass, only breaking from the routine when Kaoru had gone "boring", and tried to rev up his chainsaw. Rei had snatched it out of his hands and dropped it into her Subspace Pocket.

Gendo closed his eyes and waited as Rei started picking the last of the glass from his back. He did open them back up when Kaoru prodded his forehead.

"You really pissed off Asuka, you know that Gen-Gen?" Kaoru's ever present smile turned a degree more ferocious and sadistic. "You should have seen what she did. Oh, and by the way, if you start hearing anything about the sudden destruction of Jupiter or stuff like that, don't worry, we have a couple spares that we can replace it with." Kaoru smiled sweetly at Gendo's sudden sweating. _'Damn, I love riling this guy up.'_

Rei finished removing the glass and swabbed Gendo's back with disinfectant. "I'm almost finished. Allow me one minute to complete this."

Kaoru winked at Gendo, pulling another chainsaw from his Pocket and fingering the starter. "So Gendo, what exactly did you say to Asuka that got her so riled up? It obviously wasn't a dig at her mother. Couldn't have been a common insult. And you certainly didn't mention any of us, since she would have killed you then and there. So what did you say?"

Rei subtly cocked an ear at Gendo, and finished applying the disinfectant. Kaoru smirked and tapped the starter to the chainsaw a few times for affect. Gendo remained impassive, and once he determined that his words may, minutely, prolong his presence inside the Loop, spoke. "She said I was pathetic for getting drunk and running away from the Loop, and I asked if she was any different."

The silence that followed was palpable. The hair on the back of Gendo's neck rose as he realized what a dangerous thing he had just said. Rei and Kaoru, the two strongest angels in all of the Loops, were silently staring at him. Suddenly, a tear rolled down Kaoru's face, followed by another. Kaoru stood and left the room.

Rei followed him, emotionless, still, almost automatic in actions. She didn't look at Gendo, didn't even react his calls. All she did was walk to the door and open it. And then, ever so silently, she looked at Gendo with an absolutely dead gaze.

The door closed.

Gendo's apartment looked like it had been ransacked while he was gone. Pillows were tossed every which way, the table was on its side, obviously someone had tried to cook a meal and forgotten its existence, and for whatever reason, a dead camel was rotting on the rug. The last fact was a perfect example of insult to injury: Kaoru and Asuka had obviously reinterpreted Boromir's line about being unable to simply walk somewhere, and applied it to his apartment.

Gendo didn't care anyway. He was only there to collect a spare pair of glasses, since the supply in his still small Subspace Pocket had run out again. A quick rifling through a small wooden cupboard resulted in several pairs being collected, and once Gendo had removed the obviously and subtly booby-trapped ones, selected one with a mildly functioning nose piece and put it on.

Gendo jumped when he heard the knock at his front door. The noise was surprisingly alien to the ancient (or depending on your frame of reference, infantile) man, if only because he had been outside if his apartment for so long that he had lost his acclimation to it. Quickly adjusting his glasses and checking to see if he was presentable (he was wearing his usual NERV suit, albeit one that was quite torn due to Asuka's attack), Gendo righted himself and marched over to the front door, sliding it open efficiently.

Shinji, with Rei, Asuka, and Kaoru arrayed behind him, was standing at the door. "We need to talk." It wasn't a request; it was a command.

Gendo nodded and stepped aside. "Welcome to my apartment. Please ignore the mess, I've had something of a break in."

Asuka kicked the decaying camel on the floor. "Ugh. Kaoru, I told you this was a bad idea. We should have gone for the piles of cannabis. That would have been funnier."

"Meh. I thought the smell would be funny," the perpetually unperturbed angelic boy admitted honestly. "And hey, we have Rei here. Rei, be a darling and give us some clean air, pretty please?"

Rei opened a window and used airbending to move the rot filled air out of the apartment. "Is this satisfactory?"

Asuka kicked the camel and sent it into her Subspace Pocket. "Show off. I could do the same with my fire bending."

"Knock it off, you three, we're here for a reason." Shinji waved his hand and used the force to set the whole of the room back into its original, undamaged form. "If everyone would sit down now, then we can begin."

Kaoru hopped onto the couch that Shinji had righted, laying lengthwise across the cushions. Shinji joined him a moment later, sitting normally. Rei perched herself on the arm rest next to Shinji, content to the small allotment of space. Asuka pulled a high backed chair out of her Pocket and sat in that. "So what are we here for Baka-Shinji? A rousing discussion of revenge plans? Psychological torture? Fear induction? Oh, wait, I know: you want to brag about how many times you've slept with Ritsuko."

Shinji rolled his eyes. "Asuka, that's not it at all. We're here to speak with him."

It was starting to dawn on Gendo that something was terribly amiss. The fury from Asuka, Kaoru crying, Rei going completely emotionally dead... something seemed to be up.

At that moment, all four children in the room turned and looked at Gendo, all with varying degrees of loathing in their gazes. The father of the Fourth Looper held up his hands placatingly. "Look, you can do whatever you want to me, I don't care anymore. Can I please just go get a drink?"

A beer flew through the air and nearly struck Gendo in the head. The five traced it's trajectory to see, to their surprise, Penpen. "What? You four go out to interrogate Gendo and forget about me? I'm as much a Looper as any of you."

Gendo blinked hard to make sure that Penpen was really there. "I will never get over that talking penguin."

"Feh. You'll love it when you meet Private," Asuka sneered.

Penpen sat down against the couch and looked Gendo straight in the eye. "So what did you do? Insinuate that you've done more girls then Shinji?"

"Actually, Gendo said that he didn't care about what happened to him in the Loops," Shinji surmised. For a moment, an imperceptible look crossed his face. Had Gendo's social skills been better, he may have recognized it for what it was: anxiety.

Penpen slurped his beer. "Oh this is going to be good."

Shinji looked his father in the eye for the first time in years. Concern freely coalesced onto his face, if only in a small quantity. "Gendo... damn it," Shinji said quietly. Rallying again, Shinji tried a second time.

"Gendo, I know that things are bad. And that we haven't been helping you. But you need to understand that if you keep this up, if this disregard for your own life continues, you could develop Sakura Syndrome... or worse." Shinji's left hand clenched hard, before relaxing. To himself, Shinji noted the oddity of such a movement: it was the first time in millennia he had ever experienced that tic. "Gendo... after hearing what you said, we, the four of us, came to a consensus." Shinji pointed at himself and the other pilots.

"We think that it's time we tell you."

Gendo cocked an eyebrow, ever so slightly, just enough for it to go unnoticed. "Tell me what?"

Shinji inhaled deeply. Kaoru winced to himself, scared to confront that particular part of his past. Asuka huffed and looked away. Rei stilled and became more distant, if only for a moment. And then Shinji spoke.

"I think it's time we told you about the First Crash."

* * *

Imagine an endless hell. A life so fully devoid of purpose and meaning that it smothered you, crushed you, drove you nearly to madness. A world where time reset, where your actions meant nothing because they never lasted. A world where love was torture, soothing was pain, and life was living death. That was the life of Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami, Asuka Soryu, and Kaoru Nagisa. There was only a single point of solace, and it was too far away to bear.

The time Loops were an impenetrable enigma, so thoroughly incomprehensible for the Loopers of the Eva-verse, that back then before the first Fused Loops, it didn't even have a name. The Loopers called them resets, or iterations, or going back, or, in a bout of rare luck, Loops.

No one knew what they were. No one could explain them. The Loops just... were. Sometimes Rei was there, sometimes Asuka, sometimes Kaoru, sometimes a combination of all three. Shinji was always there though: sometimes with his friends as company, sometimes alone. It was the Loops that he was alone that he couldn't bear.

Shinji hadn't known what was happening in the beginning of it all. He was lost, dazed and confused. The first time he tried anything, to tell people what was happening, to change something, NERV had found him, and tortured him until they knew everything he had known. The second time, he was just killed, by pure accident. The third time didn't change anything.

Asuka had spent whole Loops crying after she first came back, her walls down, her emotions free for the world to see. Rei had gone on a rampage, slaughtering everyone near her, only stopping when she had accidentally killed Shinji and restarted everything. Kaoru... Kaoru had stepped off of his little statue, the very same one that Shinji had first met him under, and greeted Shinji with a kiss and a question of how he had been.

The Loops wore on, Shinji no longer alone, but despite everything, despite killing himself hundreds of times, despite allowing Instrumentality to play out, despite every atrocity and monstrous act he and his fellows committed...

Eternity rolled on.

And then one day, Kaoru read a few notes on the Evangelions, and Adam and Lilith. And suddenly, a new idea came to be.

If they could fuse their Eva's together, and channel the power that the strange creatures contained, than maybe, just maybe, they would be able to write themselves out of existence. They would almost certainly kill the whole of Earth along the way, but at the same time...

They just didn't care.

They made their pact. The next time all four came together, they would use the Eva's to destroy everything. Everything would end, and empty oblivion awaited the four pilots.

Not a single one had even been more scared, or more thrilled, than ever before. Their eternity in hell would soon be over. They just needed to be patient.

"I'm sure it's around here somewhere..."

 _'Take a left, down four doors, on the right, eight flights of stairs, behind blast doors, and then you're at the Eva cages.'_

Misato couldn't hear Shinji's thoughts. "Alright, this way Shinji," she said, obliviously leading Shinji to the left, and getting them even more lost. "Uhhhhh..."

Shinji pointed at what looked like a wall panel. "Maybe we should head this way? It's a door."

Misato chuckled lightly. "Shinji, that's not a door. I'm a little lost but even I-"

The 'wall' slid open, revealing a rather annoyed bottle blonde. "Misato, what are you doing? You were supposed to be at the Eva Cages thirty minutes ago."

Misato winced. "Sorry Rits. Just got a little lost on the way."

Ritsuko Akagi frowned and stepped aside to admit her directionless friend and the pilot. "Make sure it doesn't happen again Misato." Ritsuko glanced at Shinji, recognition and annoyance, with just a touch of anger and pity, filling her face. "So I take it this is the third child?"

Shinji, in his own manner, winced. _'Yeah, just keep that ambiguity going. It's not like you want me to be able to do anything here, right?'_

"Yeah, this is him. Shinji Ikari, meet Ritsuko Akagi." Misato slapped Shinji on the back affectionately. "She's the brains behind this whole operation."

"Speaking of that," Shinji said, sticking to his memorized script, "what is this place? An entire Geofront, and I don't even know what I'm doing here." Shinji, as one could infer, had become very good at lying.

The elevator had reached the Eva cages by the time Ritsuko answered. "This facility was established in 2004, in preparation for the events you have seen transpire outside of our borders. This entire facility, along with the organization that controls it-"

Shinji tuned out Ritsuko's lecture, nodding and going "hmm" and "yes" at the appropriate times. The good doctor's motorboat carried the three of them swift and truly to the Eva cages, and once docked there, Shinji disembarked and walked inside, waiting for the technicians to throw the lights dramatically.

And what a dramatic light throwing it wasn't. The lights came on, Shinji found him face to face with Unit 1 slash Yui Ikari, and Ritsuko stated as grandly as her poor oration skills could allow: "Artificial human, Evangelion."

Shinji was not impressed, but faked interest impeccably. "So this, all of this, is part of my father's work?"

"Correct." Shinji didn't need to look up: he knew it was his father. "Shinji, listen very carefully. You must pilot the Evangelion."

Shinji internally rolled his eyes and didn't look at his father. "But... I can't."

"You must, my son."

The argument continued like that for several minutes, Shinji operating on automatic. Finally, in an attempt to guilt trip his son, Gendo called out Rei. Doctors rolled the wounded young woman out to the cage, where Gendo very pointedly stated that, if Shinji couldn't pilot, then Rei would. It was then that a sudden tremor struck the Geofront, and the building shook.

Shinji acted on reflex, seizing Rei and cradling her, twisting to shield her from the falling debris. It was honestly pointless: Rei had long since mastered her AT-field to the point that she could and in this case did use it to shield them. Shinji recognized the implicit sign of Rei's presence, and gently returned her to her gurney. "Rei..."

Rei's lone visible eye winked at Shinji, a minute gesture that meant the world to her fellow pilot. Infinitely more at ease, Shinji turned to his father. "Alright..." Shinji caught himself just before he said something that sounded too confident. "I'll... I'll do it. I'll pilot."

The battle with Sachiel went simply. Shinji engaged the angel with carefully measured prowess, fighting with just enough ferocity to fake Unit One's berserker mode, but with enough control to kill the angel before its core went critical. The angel slain, Shinji allowed his exhaustion to overtake him (piloting in this manner always tired him out), and passed out inside his plug.

The next morning, Shinji watched as Misato argued with Ritsuko on the phone over whether or not he was going to stay with Misato. Shinji knew that Misato was going to win, and didn't try to prevent it. Misato's apartment was one of the few in the entire city that always lacked surveillance, even when she had all four pilots living there. Misato put the phone back and gestured for Shinji to follow her, having, once again, won the argument to host him at her home. As Shinji followed her though, the phone that she had spoken with went off again. With lightning reflexes, Shinji answered the carefully timed phone call. "Hello?"

 _"...Shinji?"_

"...Asuka."

 _"Rei?"_

"Yeah. Kaoru?"

 _"Yeah..."_

Shinji hung up the phone, swallowing hard and fighting tears. _'We're all here... will this be the last time we're together?'_

Shinji followed his guardian, turmoil roiling beneath his impassive face."

-x-X-x-

"Rei!? Rei, are you alright?"

Rei Ayanami opened her eyes to the blur that was her world, her gaze alighting upon the darkened figure above her. It dawned upon Rei that she was sitting inside her entry plug, just seconds after it had been forcibly removed from her unit. Ikari had come to save her. Rallying her faculties, Rei tried to think clearly. "Pilot... Shinji..?"

The blur sighed aloud, moving to give the impression of shaking its head. " _Dummkopf... Mein Vater wäre nicht glücklich , das zu hören sein._ (Silly... my father would have been angry if he heard that.)"

Rei smiled as Shinji's face fully formed in the darkness, her vision returning to normal. "The commander would have merely assumed my diligent application of my faculties to the task of learning your identity. I would merely have been reprimanded for wasting my time." Rei reached to take Shinji's outstretched arm, gripping up his forearm and pulling herself up out of the entry plug.

Shinji smiled, but it came apart as he and Rei stepped off from the waylaid entry plug. "Rei, why did you do that? You almost got killed _again_. Ramiel was _this_ close to putting us both down, and you go ahead and let it try and fry Unit Zero."

Rei frowned and looked away from Shinji at his heartrending tone: not accusing, but concerned. "My goal was merely an illogical nostalgic repeat of the original events Shinji. Nothing more, but a danger to both of ourselves. I will-"

Shinji cupped Rei face. "Rei... stop. You can just say 'for old time's sake'. It's not your fault if you're nostalgic." A smile tickled the sides of Shinji's lips. "Besides: when else am I going to have a chance to be a badass?"

Rei held up a finger, and then immediately thought better of making a deduction pertaining to when Shinji could next live out a power fantasy. Disregarding the issue, Rei strode down from the spot where Shinji had dropped her entry plug and went down to the beach of the Ashi Lake that Mt Futago had been perched by. Shinji followed, awkwardly slipping as the smooth soles of his plug suit struggled to find purchase on the sandy beach.

As the next half-hour passed, Rei and Shinji sat at the water's edge, listening to the gentle lap of the waves against the sand, the beautiful child of a drop of water meeting a reservoir and an ocean wave scraping against a long beach. Both had rolled their plug suits down to their waists to let their skin air out from the LCL baths, the cool night air a boon to the two children who had never seen even a flake of snow. Eventually, the sounds of nature managed to rise above the loud pings of settling metal that Unit's One and Zero emitted, with the noise of frogs and crickets and yes, even cicadas, returning to the lakeside world that Rei and Shinji found themselves under. Neither of them noticed though. Their eyes fell solely upon the stars.

Millions of distant twinkles of light. In countless arrangements and in thousands of colors, the stars shone on the impossibly dark country of Japan, all of its light stolen by the operation against the fifth angel. Underneath the impossibly dark skies, humanity received a reminder of how small they were, compared to the infinite vastness of the cosmos. It was almost enough to justify the goals of Seele: to create a god, and create meaning in a vast, meaningless universe. The height of absurdity.

On the lakeshore though, the universe of Rei Ayanami and Shinji Ikari extended to a few, solitary feelings. Of shoulder upon shoulder, arm upon arm, hand in hand. Shinji, his head tucked neatly against Rei's shoulder and into the crook of her neck. Rei, with her blue hair mingling with Shinji's black hair, her hand squeezing his, and thoughts rolling within her head. Finally, within the hurricane that was her mind, a thought emerged and demanded address. "Pilot... Shinji?"

"Hmm?"

"Will this really be our last iteration?"

"...yeah. This is the last time we'll be here. The last time we'll kill the fifth. The last time-"

"We'll see the stars?"

"Yeah." Shinji looked up, staring at the vastness of space, fully appreciating the beauty of the sky.

And then tears began to gather on his face, and on Rei's, as they saw the same stars again, and realized, even with all of eternity before them, that they had memorized even that. Fighting back sobs, Rei turned to Shinji. "Do you... do you think that there will be stars where we're going?"

Shinji rubbed the tears from his eyes. "I don't... I don't think so. No?"

Rei grabbed Shinji and pulled him close. "Shinji, will you be there."

"I will."

-x-X-x-

The pacific fleet rolled with the waves as it trudged towards the shores of Japan. Its precious cargo: the body and soul of Adam, and the Evangelion designated Unit Two. Of course, only two occupants of the inbound helicopter knew this. After all, Kaoru typically used the transport of Unit Two as an excuse to tag along with Asuka on her way to Japan, especially if Asuka was aware of the time travel. It meant, as always, a beautiful reunion between the four pilots, and gave Kaoru the opportunity to watch Asuka go to town on Gaghiel.

As the helicopter that bore Misato, Shinji and Rei touched down on the aircraft carrier "Over The Rainbow" (formerly known as the "Enterprise CVN-65"), a familiar figure could be seen striding towards them. "Well well, Misato Katsuragi? Been a while hasn't it?"

Misato nearly jumped out of her skin. "Ka-Kaji? What are you doing here?"

Ryoji Kaji smiled at his old flame, a bit of his old swagger and charm leaking out of his disposition. "Oh, I'm floating around, here and there. What's NERV like, anything interesting happening?"

Shinji and Rei tuned out the typical banter of Misato and Kaji, both more or less able to react on instinct to their antics. Instead they took to looking for their fellow pilots. Asuka and Kaoru were usually on the deck by now, watching the waves roll by.

Lo and behold, the duo had gathered themselves on the aft deck, gazing out over the foamy water leaving the propellers. Shinji and Rei shared a quick, cheeky glance and tiptoed up behind them. Now if they were lucky...

Kaoru turned around and planted a quick kiss on Rei. "Afternoon, beautiful. How was the flight?"

Rei frowned ever so slightly in annoyance, her and Shinji's prank ruined, before speaking in her common manner. "Pi..." Everyone winced at Rei's difficulties with non-formal address. The bluenette was externally unfazed, and continued anyway. "Kaoru, if you continue to enact such public displays of affection, than it is more than likely that you will garner the attention of NERV's Sector 2, and Commander Ikari. In that situation, they will review your actions, and if they are deemed suspicious, or indicative of some form of prior rapport, they will act and interrupt our plans for this iteration." Rei pursed her lips as she finished. "These are facts that you are well aware of, I now believe, and you have simply allowed my digression for the sake of politeness."

Kaoru, Asuka and Shinji all nodded. The redhead even smirked a little. "Hn. Millions of years old and still speaking like a dictionary. You'll never change, eh wondergirl?" Asuka reached over and ribbed Rei.

Rei looked Asuka straight in the eye. "I find my current disposition to be satisfactory on all levels." A cheeky look overtook Rei. "That you have retained your bitchy personality despite all these iterations of turmoil and trauma is less than satisfactory."

Asuka frowned and tugged Rei's cheek in revenge. "Nah, you're just too uptight. You need to loosen up a little. Right boys?" Asuka cast her gaze at Shinji and Kaoru, who were staring dumbly at the girls. Kaoru turned to Shinji with an absolutely serious look on his face.

"You know Shinji, we really should have gone completely gay iterations ago. Would have saved us the trouble of keeping these two off each other's throats."

Shinji nodded, totally serious as well. "Absolutely. Much less work too when we're not playing peacekeepers."

Asuka grabbed Shinji and Kaoru by the ears. "Oh, so now we're the trouble?" Letting them go, Asuka dusted off her hands. "Come on Rei, let's get to Unit two. We can probably get away with some fun before Gaghiel shows up."

"Naturally," Rei agreed, even as Shinji and Kaoru grabbed their waists and began apologizing profusely. Rei shook Shinji off. "Well, I guess we're off now. Better enjoy becoming one before Gaghiel shows up."

A moment passed as the three pilots stared at Rei, before all four broke out into laughs. Asuka pulled both Shinji and Rei into a hug. "Gott en himmel, I missed you guys."

Kaoru got in on the group hug. "And what about me, ehhhohhh crap!" Kaoru jumped away from the group hug, leading to the three to break up, as they noticed Misato and Kaji staring at them from a few feet away.

For a moment, no one spoke. Misato reached up, locked her mouth, and threw away the key. Kaji winked at them and made shushing motions with his finger. The pilots awkwardly thanked them, and watched them leave for the bridge.

Kaoru turned to Shinji, his good mood ruined by the intrusion, worry and more than a touch of fear coloring his face. "So... We're all here. Is this it?"

Shinji, silently nodded. "Yeah. It is."

Rei reached over and gently entwined her fingers with Kaoru. The scion of Adam smiled sadly. Shinji nodded to himself, his own mood dour. There really wasn't a way to be positive about it: they were planning to attempt suicide! How could you be positive?

"Come on guys... don't be so glum."

You could change your name to Asuka Langley Soryu, of course.

Asuka plowed on. "We're almost in the clear. We'll be free soon, able to finally _rest_. I know that we'll never be able to get back to where we've been, but look at what we've done." Asuka started making hand gestures, diverting the attentions of her fellow pilots to her. "We've been to every country on the planet, learned to speak every language ever. Tasted food from a thousand cultures, seen every square mile of this planet, heard music to rapture the ears for ages, felt every feeling across the spectrum. Hell, we've already died countless times for each other. Do you really think I would have agreed to this if I had regrets?" A smile broke out across Asuka's face. "Tell me, is there even a single thing you would have done that you haven't already?"

The three gloomy, ancient children stared at Asuka. And then slowly, smiles found their way back onto their faces. Shinji ribbed Kaoru. "I told you she was worth it."

"Yeah yeah."

At that moment, the warming buzzers began to sound. Asuka snapped her fingers. "That's our cue. You better head back to the bridge; I'll take care of Gaghiel."

Kaoru and Rei stepped past Asuka, but Shinji grabbed her hand. Asuka looked at the sudden joining, and then at Shinji. The young boy smiled at her, almost unsure. "Asuka... can I come? For old times' sake?"

Asuka frowned, but smiled anyway. "Well, at least I won't need to recalibrate for you thinking in Japanese."

Shinji chuckled. "Just try not to think like that yourself sweetheart."

"Sweetheart! Why I never..."

The pair went below deck, racing to catch their speedboat to Unit Two.

-x-X-x-

As was customary to the Evangelion pilots, Misato Katsuragi's residence was quickly partitioned as the official home for where they came to rest. Misato was more than pleased to play host to the four of them, but because she had caught them bonding upon the flight deck of the Over The Rainbow, all four were now victim to her selective teasing and innuendo. That said, Misato also didn't seriously imply that any of them were in any sort of relationship beyond friendly camaraderie, which suited them fine. As such, Misato wasn't obliged to mind them twenty four hours a day, and so when her work became too much and NERV was devoid of anything they were needed for, the pilots ended up with the apartment to themselves and Penpen.

Thus, the four put their isolation to good use, quickly falling into old rhythms and patterns established centuries, even millennia beforehand. For the particular night the Children found themselves in, just a few days before the discovery of the seventh angel Sandalphon, this meant one thing. Movie night.

Asuka skipped out to grab a movie, Shinji and Kaoru made the popcorn, and Rei configured an old movie projector that she had gotten from Kensuke. By the twilight of the day, the four had their beers and popcorn and movie all together and had settled down to watch: Asuka on the couch, Rei laying across the couch with her head nestled in Asuka's lap, Shinji and Kaoru both on the floor, leaning against the couch. Comfortable, within easy reach of the popcorn, and ready to watch the movie for the umpteenth time, Rei hit play.

"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..."

Star Wars played out like the magnificent opera it was, the company of pilots giving their own running commentary. The story would never change, with Obi Wan always facing off against Vader, Han always shooting first, with Leia always being awesome, etc. At the same time though, the movie was just that good. It may have been the same, but it was worth it.

Shinji swallowed a handful of popcorn, coming out to say, "You know, why couldn't we have been Luke and Han and Leia. It would have been so much more bearable. And entire galaxy to explore, no Eva's, just the four of us. It would have been awesome to have the Force."

Asuka looked at Shinji. "Well, unless you haven't noticed, there's four of us, and three of them. Who'd replace who?"

Shinji scratched at his chin. "Hmm... I guess I would take Luke since he's the main characters, Rei would be Leia because she's biologically my sister, Asuka could take Han... and Kaoru would replace Chewy, because he's taller than all of us."

That got few chuckles from the pilots. Kaoru flicked Shinji's shoulder playfully. "Actually, I think I'm a better fit for Luke. Me and Rei are the only people with supernatural powers on the whole planet after all."

Shinji cocked an eyebrow. "Oh really? And then who would I replace? I'm not a good for Chewbacca, and there isn't anyone else I could be, so who-"

"C-3PO," the three other pilots chimed to Shinji's chagrin. The younger Ikari winced and conceded the point, turning his attention back to the movie. On screen, Darth Vader was choking a counselor with the Force. Shinji pointed at the helmeted man. "You know who he'd be replaced by. My dad. That way I'd have Carte Blanche to kick his ass."

"Get in line, Shinji," Asuka said. "You and about three billion others." A thoughtful look overtook Asuka. "However... maybe Kaji would do well as Obi Wan. The father figure replacement, tragically cut down by the real, abusive father. In fact, you and Luke do share the 'raised by aunt and uncle' status as well. Maybe Luke _is_ a good fit for you."

Kaoru nodded sagely. "You can't go wrong with that logic. Oh, if only we really did live in Star Wars. Maybe Luke would enjoy being an Evangelion pilot. Hell, maybe Leia would. Who knows?" Kaoru grabbed a handful of popcorn and stuffed it in his mouth. "Who knows?"

Rei held up a finger into the air. "Shush. There is a movie playing that emotionally fulfills me. Be silent."

The four watched the movie without comment from then on.

-x-X-x-

Asuka had planted herself outside of Misato's residence, her laptop on, well, her lap, her fingers dancing across the keys like leaves across a still lake. The cicadas chirped and warbled above her in the endless summer sun, the sky its usual crystalline blue. All she needed was some chai tea, and it would have been a slice of paradise.

Rei had been planning on going outside for a few hours when she had noticed Asuka sitting outside in her computer, and seized upon the chance presented. As such, Rei had quickly brewed some tea and was now making her way to Asuka, two cups of chai in her hands. Asuka grabbed the proffered cup and drank a little. "Yum. Thank you."

"There is no need to mention it," Rei said in an inflectionless manner.

Asuka reached up with the hand not holding her tea and poked Rei as she sat down next to her. "Which is why I do. Because I like being pointless."

"I believe our mutual politeness was the point of my statements."

"Mutual smutual. You just love hearing yourself talk like that."

"I do. Don't you?"

Asuka held up her un-chai'd hand and wiggled it flatly. "Eh. I'm on the fence for it." Asuka set her tea aside and typed out another line of text in her computer.

Rei leaned over and glanced at the document that had been opened for Asuka to work on. A quick examination revealed its identity. "You're rewriting your thesis on the sinusoidal structures of Absolute Territory fields?"

"Yup. When I'm finished with this it'll be the most complete dissertation on AT fields in the entire universe." Asuka pointed from the computer to her head, an embarrassed bead of sweat trickling down it. "And then I'll need to commit it and the edits to memory."

Rei pursed her lips and nodded, sipping her green tea thoughtfully. "It must be a struggle, trying to recall so much information."

Asuka chuckled. "Oh, you just need to know how it all fits together to understand it. Besides, I only have three hundred theses in my head: I don't need to worry about forgetting anything."

Rei glanced at the page, easily and suddenly gaining a whole new level of understanding for how her AT field worked. "Your doctorates degrees are well earned Asuka."

Asuka, otherwise known as the unofficial owner of every doctorates, bachelors, and associate's degree known to man, laughed in gratitude. "Trust me wondergirl, I wouldn't have made it far without Shinji or Kaoru." Asuka sipped her tea, grinning cheekily. "Though I could have gone a few times without the distractions of such a sexy young girl like yourself."

Rei subtly raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Then am I distracting you now?"

Asuka walked two fingers up Rei's arm. "Maybe..."

"Then I shall be going now," Rei said, standing up quickly. Asuka gasped and grabbed Rei by the arm, dragging the giggling bluenette back down. "I'm merely joking Asuka."

"Yeah yeah yeah," Asuka playfully hit Rei in the shoulder. "Stuck around wondergirl, maybe you'll learn something."

The two girls spent the entire day outside, drinking tea and discussing AT fields.

-x-X-x-

NERV had controlled Kaoru for so long that, when he finally started exercising free will within the many temporal repeats that were occurring, he'd been secretly terrified. Kaoru Nagisa, otherwise known as Tabris the Seventeenth angel, had been the Angel of Free Will, and found himself, ironically, trapped between a rock and a hard place. To kill humanity, or die by it. In his first life, he had chosen not to be killed, but to give his life to the one person he had ever loved: Shinji. The first time he had returned, he had simply thought he was trapped by his fate. For a time though, as he learned, he had come to feel that he now did have true free will.

Now he knew better, and had chosen to die on his own terms again.

Up in the Pribnow box, Ritsuko Akagi politely told Kaoru to relax, exactly as Kaoru and Shinji expected she would. Kaoru allowed his sync ratio to climb another notch after a moment, and, as predicted, Ritsuko told him he was doing a good job. It was the same game all over again: keeping their sync ratios down in a believable range while looking like they were trying to push them as high as possible. This wasn't merely standard stuff, inside of sync tests it had become second nature.

The days were starting to drag again, for all four of the pilots. Kaoru had expected as much. If only because nowadays he expected everything. The euphoria of knowing that it would all end soon was fading, alternatively replaced by raw fear, and the frustration of waiting. It irked Kaoru.

Ritsuko soon called an end to the test, dismissing the boys and calling in the girls for their testing. Kaoru heaved himself out of the entry plug, his LCL soaked feet squelching against the metal deck. Shinji hopped out of his and waved Kaoru over. "Good job at the tests," Shinji said, sticking to a memorized script.

Kaoru nodded and smiled taking up his end of the script. "You did very well yourself Shinji. Soon you'll be passing Asuka's score."

Shinji started off for the changing room. "I don't think I should... Asuka doesn't like it as it is."

"Oh, she's just like that," Kaoru falsely comforted resting a hand on Shinji's shoulder.

Shinji glanced at the hand, and then very gently removed it, holding it in his own. Kaoru raised his eyebrows at Shinji sudden deviation from the script, but Shinji's honest smile put his mind at rest. "You know Shinji, if they catch us doing this, there will be questions."

Shinji lightly squeezed Kaoru's hand, the euphoria of self-assurance, knowing that they would soon be free, and true love managing to break his stifled gloomy mood. "They could. But I don't care."

Kaoru smiled and walked down the halls again, his hand entwined with Shinji's. He kept his mind from recalling that this wasn't the first time he had felt Shinji's hand, not the first time they had walked around NERV base holding hands, not the first time for anything. He just tried to focus on how good it felt.

The good feeling could only last so long though, and it ran out by the time Shinji and Kaoru had reached the changing rooms. Kaoru instead focused on something else. "Shinji, will this be our last time... going through this world?"

Shinji didn't meet Kaoru's eyes, his own doubts all too clear on his face. "I... don't know."

Kaoru turned to face Shinji fully. "Are you afraid?"

Shinji's lips twitched. 'Afraid, sad, angry... hopeful.' Shinji knew, in his gut, that if this didn't work, they would all go insane. He'd spent years wondering if he had gone mad, fears that had only abated when Asuka had shown up amongst the repeats. But now that the end of their time was so close...

He didn't know.

Shinji traced across Kaoru's hand, following the lines of his palm through his hand. "I know this hand..." His feeling fingers travelled up. "This arm..." And across to just above Kaoru's heart. "Every inch of this body... there's nothing new here. Nothing to pursue. Nothing to accomplish. There is no meaning of life for us, because we can never stop. To live..."

"...Is to die," Kaoru finished.

Shinji's hand was joined by the other. Both slipped around Kaoru's chest and onto the small of his back. "Yeah..."

Kaoru held Shinji, tears mingling with LCL. "A meaningful life... must have a death."

-x-X-x-

"Do you think they would have been proud?"

"Come again?"

Kaoru and Rei had, for the night, agreed to leave their home and eat out. In this case, that meant fancy clothes and a lavish dinner at one of Tokyo 3's most premier restaurants, The Inversion. It was a largish establishment located on the bottom floor of one of the skyscrapers, giving it a perfect view of the Geofront deep below the city. Its location also made it the most expensive restaurant in the entire city, but the paycheck for saving the world, coupled with a quick flash of the NERV id badge, was literally all the two teens needed to get in.

The dinner, while exquisite and truly worth the price of admission, was really only part of the attraction. Most came for the prestige of actually being able to enter, and the simply wonderful view. Rei used to visit sparingly, to preserve that majesty.

Now it was just a place to eat.

"I asked you, Kaoru, if the First Ancestral Race would have been proud of what we've accomplished?"

Kaoru sipped his goblet of wine (vintage, from the stores of Napoleon Bonaparte, and worth more than most men made in a century), thoughtfully. "You know Rei... I'm not quite sure what you mean by that."

Rei shrugged. "They created Lilith and Adam and the other five Progenitors. They created the Lances, the Moons, everything, to spread life to the cosmos. And yet... they also tried to keep the black and white moons from meeting, to keep those bearing the fruit of knowledge, those like humanity, from meeting those who bore the fruit of life, like the angels." Rei swirled her wine around in its goblet. "And when it failed and they met, when we met, we recreated... recreate, their progeny."

"So I'm asking if you think they would be proud of that."

Kaoru didn't answer Rei for a long while. Finally, he managed to articulate his response. "I don't know. Do you think they would be proud?"

Rei looked Kaoru straight in the eye. "I know that they wouldn't be proud of what we're doing."

Kaoru leaned back, a frown gracing his features. "And finally, the truth comes out."

"Kaoru, if we do kill ourselves-"

"Rei, stop." Kaoru held up an open palm. "I know what you're going to say. If we do this, we're throwing away our ability to choose, to learn and grow and become better, stronger people. That we'd make the ultimate choice; not to choose." An exhausted look overtook Kaoru, one cultivated by literal millennia of pain and frustration. "That's it, isn't it?"

Rei sighed and sagged into her chair. "We have free will: we're people. Not human, but we are people. I... I don't know if what we're doing... if it's right."

Kaoru and Rei sat there, silent, and waiting. Finally, Rei spoke again. "I'm scared."

"I know. I am too."

-x-X-x-

The dojo was empty. That was the first thing that Asuka expected, and it was the first thing she saw. Asuka had memorized the patterns of occupancy long ago, and knew exactly when she could visit to have time alone. It never changed.

Asuka adjusted her gee, flipping the shinai (a practice sword) in her hands over a few times to get its balance. Finding just where it could be held for maximum effect, Asuka entered into a wide footed stance. It was a stance that she knew by heart. It would never change.

Asuka made a few steps forward, feeling the rubber floor cover flex underneath her bare feet. Her opponent was a rolled tatami mat, mounted on a spool. Asuka knew the tatami mat like the back of her hand. She knew all of them intimately. They never changed.

Asuka moved through a quick kata. Three blows fell on the mat, the mat and shinai flexing in the same manner they always did. Asuka growled and blitzed the mat again with a sudden and brutal series of slashes. The mat yielded in the exact. Same. Way.

Asuka screamed and swung so hard that her shinai broke against the mat. Asuka stabbed the mat with the splintered end and then began pounding it with her fists, screaming incoherently, screaming about how everything never changed.

"Don't fight angry. You'll lose regardless."

Asuka's punches lost their strength, the blows falling slower, and then stopping. Exhausted, the redhead sagged against the mat, her legs weak beneath her. "Baka... You know you shouldn't be here."

"And where would I be, school?" Shinji quipped. "You know they can't teach me anything. Besides, you're more fun. And you're bleeding."

Shinji crossed the mat and pulled Asuka's hand from her side, showing the fiery redhead the cuts her knuckles had developed. "You really shouldn't be punching a mat with splinters in it."

"They'll heal. And besides..." Asuka glanced at her bloodied fists. "This isn't the first time I've done this."

Shinji shrugged, pulling two shinai out from behind his back. "Well, since you're so focused on sword fighting, best two out of three?"

Asuka sighed, but clicked her lips after a seconds and stood a little taller. "You think you can beat me? I've practically written the book on swordplay."

"Well I've got experience," Shinji retorted. Tossing Asuka one of the shinai, Shinji stepped back a few paces and held the sword at his side. "When you're ready."

Asuka bowed, as far into the pleasantries that she ever dove, and turned the sword towards Shinji. "Prepared to lose?"

"Are you?"

Asuka charged, spotting Shinji's tell, a slight twitch of the left leg, and countered his preemptive strike with one of her own. But Shinji had already see her goal and adjusted. Asuka replied with a swift blow that Shinji reversed, which she reversed.

After centuries of sword fighting, and millennia together, Shinji and Asuka knew each other inside out. It wasn't different. It wasn't new.

It was the same damn thing, just with different players, all over again.

-x-X-x-

Everything had gone according to plan. A missed deadline here, a bit of critical intelligence gone from there, and a delay to allow the Thirteenth to nearly reach Tokyo 3 and kill Toji, all of it culminated in Seele sending the JSSDF to destroy NERV several days in advance. The Mass Produced Evangelion series were already being flown in. Within the hour, Third Impact would initiate, and humanity would find itself doomed, either by eleven old men who wanted to create a god, or by four ancient teens, who wanted to die.

In Shinji's mind, that was the clincher. Humanity was doomed. And once again, he was the one who was sending them straight to hell.

Good intentions, eh?

In the Eva cages, the unaware Anchor of Yggdrasil's Evangelion branch, the unknown fourth Looper to exist in the multiverse, Shinji Ikari, sighed. His company, Rei, Asuka and Kaoru, nodded silently, counting down the minutes. The four of them had elected to forgo plug suits, instead choosing to wear their school clothes. There hadn't been a specific plan to do so; Shinji merely imagined that it was automatic. He glanced at his watch, already knowing thanks to the noise what time it was. "The MP Eva's should be entering their holding formation now."

The three others nodded, their own foreknowledge confirmed. The moment passed, and then Kaoru spoke. "Well... everyone. Shall we?"

The four exchanged quiet good lucks and silent embraces, and boarded the Eva's. Asuka activated her Eva first, ready to break free from the locks. "Shinji, Rei, don't let Kaoru get caught, alright."

A comm channel opened, showing Shinji and Rei in Unit One's entry plug. "Right. Try not to have too much fun Asuka," Shinji replied.

Asuka broke the locks, and moved for the surface, tearing through the many levels of NERV headquarters, before erupting onto the surface. Instantly, helicopters and tanks began to fire on Asuka, missiles and cannons roaring at her. The German roared right back. "COME GET SOME!"

Back inside the Eva cages, Shinji and Rei watched with consternation as Kaoru stifled screams of red hot agony, clutching at his side as it dissolved slowly into LCL. "Come on Naoko... Nothing ventured... Nothing gained."

Asuka twisted, dodging a gigantic missile, responding with a high kick that crushed one of the helicopters. "Come on Mama! Let's kick their asses!" Asuka waded into the lake, seized the battleship that had been anchored there, and with an ungodly heave threw it at the Tank battalion. "HRRAAAA!"

"THERE IT IS!" Kaoru shouted as his S2 Organ was tapped by Unit Zero. With his power now slave to the Evangelion, Kaoru disengaged the umbilical cord and watched in satisfaction as the timer didn't move an inch. "Let's roll!" he shouted, leading Unit One out into the Geofront.

As the two Eva's with unlimited power approached Unit Two, nine shadows swept over the Geofront. Asuka gulped at the sight, involuntarily taking a step back into the deeper waters of the lake. Units One and Zero stepped into her flanks, crossing their arms protectively over the red Eva. "Alright Asuka," Shinji said through a comm channel. "We're guard you; just get that S2 Engine. Leave everything else to us."

Asuka rolled her eyes, suitably annoyed by both the fact that they thought she still needed protecting from the MP Eva's, and the fact that Shinji was repeating himself. "Oh blah blah blah. I know the plan." The MP Eva's landed. "That's why we won't lose." Asuka broke from formation, charging one of the MP Eva's and running it down before it could react, tearing away at the armor plates and exposing the red S2 engine. "Because I'm the best. Bon-appetite."

Shinji, Rei and Kaoru rushed to protect Asuka as Unit Two consumed the white Eva's S2 engine. The other Mass Produced Eva's charged at them, great-swords flashing in the light. The MP Eva's were monstrosities of strength, weapons that had no limit, no control and no leash. To anyone else, they were walking disasters, the equivalent of stars turning against man.

To the time travelers, they were a walk in the park. Shinji had long since memorized their moves, rolling between each and every blow like a leaf on the wind. The Eva's though powerful creations of man, were still controlled by simple computers, and computers where predictable.

Synchronized with Unit One and Shinji, Rei could feel Shinji's intentions, his movements, and mirrored them with her own commands. Each move she made was calculated, perfect, and organized, completely in time with Shinji's own moves. Such was the nature of their relationship: ancient beings that had known each other for millennia.

Kaoru twisted amongst the Eva's his own predictions of their movements derived from a different source. Kaoru knew that the dummy plugs inside the Eva's were controlled by clones of himself, and as such was able to dodge every blow. He knew himself inside and out; it was Shinji, Asuka, and Rei who had taught him to look inward. They were the ones he had to thank for this battle.

Asuka straightened Unit Two, an evil smirk on her face as she saw her comrades and closest friends do battle against the Eva's, exhilaration seizing her as she realized that she was missing out on her last fight with her oldest companions. Seeing her friends battling, risking their lives to end them, was almost painful. "Now you didn't forget about me, did you?" The Eva, newly endowed with an S2 engine, ejected its power umbilical and joined the fray, ripping the white Eva's to shreds.

When the smoke settled, three Eva's stood tall. Not a single bullet, missile, or cannon round fell on their body. And now, the Eva's all had S2 engines.

Linking their arms, Kaoru began the fusion. "Initiate core exposure. Let's get this right the first time."

"Right," was the collective answer.

Before the eyes of their few onlookers, the three Eva's began to sink together, their armor falling off and exposing the skin of the monsters underneath. Inside the Eva's the four ancient children synchronized their AT-fields, ramping up their sync ratios passed one hundred, and then two hundred, and then three hundred.

The fused Eva's reached four hundred percent synchronization, and called down the true Lance of Longinus.

Inside the fused, godly being, Shinji could feel his companions, together, melded, within him and without.

" _To not know where you end and another begins_ ," Rei said.

 **"It's truly something miraculous,"** Kaoru admitted.

"It's actually a little trippy," Asuka thought.

Shinji ground his allegorical teeth and summoned his will back to himself, reestablishing his AT-field for a brief moment. "It's almost here. I can feel it. In a moment, we'll be gone."

The feeling of connectivity wavered and broke. Asuka winked at Shinji within the white space. "I would never have imagined being here without you guys."

The Lance pierced the fused cores.

"Goodbwuve2-:!)))))

-x-X-x-

Shinji jolted awake.

He was sitting in a train car, moving on. Kaoru and Rei were sitting across from him, stunned. Asuka was next to him, shaking. Shinji looked at them. "What... what..."

Suddenly, Kaoru stood up, and strode out of the compartment. Shinji and Asuka shared a single glance and followed him, Rei following them. The foursome walked down the hallway and stopped at the last compartment. Kaoru grabbed the door and opened it, and all four stared in.

Ranma Saotome, Harry Potter, and Naruto Uzumaki stared back. Ranma groaned. "God... of all the worlds to Loop next, yours just had to be it.

* * *

Gendo felt himself be pulled back hard by the scruff of his neck, emerging from the pensive with a pop of the ears. For a moment, he stared at Shinji, at Rei, Kaoru and Asuka. Finally, he found his voice. "That didn't need to be so long."

The silence that followed the declaration was palpable. After a second, Asuka chimed in. "That's what I said. That could have been a ten minute, fifteen minute memory at most. Why was it so long exactly?"

Shinji blinked in surprise. "Well-"

Rei held up a finger. "The current time is thirty minutes after we began viewing your recollection Shinji. It contained significant restatement of what was previously established, and has had little bearing in our decisions, or from appearances, Commander Ikari's disposition."

Shinji winced and countered. "It was so long because I-"

"It really could have been shorter." Kaoru interrupted.

Shinji rounded on the three ancient Loopers. "SHUT UP!"

The three locked up in surprise, before relaxing, albeit quietly. Shinji frowned and turned back to Gendo, who was looking at him with a slightly raised eyebrow. "Gendo, I showed us that to teach you something. So I'm going to let you guess; what was the moral of that story?"

Gendo stared blankly at his son, before groaning. "That you mustn't run away from your problems?"

Shinji nodded. "You're half right. Throwing yourself into the bottle will only result in you losing all of your self-worth." A dark look over took Shinji. "The other half though..." Shinji looked at the other Loopers.

It actually took a moment for the penny to drop for Asuka. "You can't be serious."

Shinji crossed his arms imposingly. "A person can only face up to life when life isn't _constantly stomping on his face_.

Kaoru rolled his eyes at Shinji's melodrama. "It's Gendo. Shinji, you of all people know our reasons. Do you know how many people he's hurt?"

"Yes. None." Shinji answered.

No one in the room spoke. Shinji sighed and elaborated. "Gendo has spent maybe a few dozen Loops Awake, but everyone is treating him as if he's been Awake for billions of years. He's only just woken up. We saw him try to be evil, try to be the villain, but he couldn't stomach it. Everyone hates him, but I'm half sure I'm the only person in the multiverse who's even half aware of the fact that this Gendo isn't the same. He's changed. And if you keep treating him like this..." Shinji's anger dwindled, a mix of regret and sorrow replacing it. "If we keep this up, we'll only drive him to the depths we fell to. And I won't let that happen, and neither should any of you."

Asuka got off her chair without a word.

Shinji remained silent until Asuka reached the door. "Asuka, if you leave this room without trying to get over yourself, you really will be no different than Gendo."

Asuka froze, standing at the door with her hand on the knob. For a moment, the group wondered if she would throw it. Slowly, Asuka turned, her glare turning to Shinji. "You really are Gendo's son, aren't you Shinji?"

Shinji said nothing, and waited patiently.

Asuka gathered herself and gritted out her answer to Gendo. "You hurt Shinji... or anyone ever again; All. Bets. Are. Off." Asuka turned, opened the door, and left.

Kaoru coolly looked at Shinji, ignoring Gendo. "That's my opinion. If you want me to stop Shinji, I'll hold off from Gendo." Kaoru tapped his forehead with two fingers in a gesture of departure, and left.

Rei stood, bowed deeply, and followed Kaoru.

For a moment, Shinji and Gendo were almost alone. Penpen decided to make himself scarce, snagging a bottle of Gendo's whiskey and excusing himself. Gendo looked at his son. "Shinji-"

Shinji held up his hand to silence Gendo. "Look... I'll try and make things better. I'll keep you safe if anyone tries to get revenge for something you don't remember. But you need to remember something: you can't run away from the Loops. So just try and live in the now."

Shinji turned and left the room, but came up short when Gendo said his name. "Yes?"

Gendo gulped and pointed in the direction that the other children had gone. "I got some... Uh... vibes, from those memories. Were you four romantically involved."

Shinji closed the door and Gendo was alone again.

The director of NERV collapsed onto his couch, emotionally exhausted, but to an extent, relieved. Mostly exhausted though. Tracking down a bottle, Gendo poured himself a glass, and knocked it door, savoring the taste.

Water had never tasted so good.

* * *

2.1 - Evangelion is not a happy Universe. It is however the fourth oldest in the Loops. Out of all the Original 7, Shinji got the rawest deal; but he got better eventually. For a given value of the term anyway.


	3. Chapter 3

3.1

[Rosario+Vampire/My Little Pony]

Big Mac had had more than his share of unusual beginnings to a Loop, ranging anywhere from the time he died saving a boy from a car right after Awakening to the time he caught a pet tiger using a tuna fish sandwich and quite a bit in between. (For some reason he had a tendency to Replace the local Anchor whenever he Looped somewhere new, and judging by what little of his surroundings he saw he doubted he was in Equestria.) However he was pretty sure this was the first time he had Woken Up a half second before being run over by a girl on a bicycle. Sitting up he barely took the time to notice that he was a human this go around before he moved to help his accidental assailant.

"Are y'all alright?"

"Owwww... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to crash into you like that, but I was feeling dizzy. I have anemia so sometimes I get a little lightheaded." the pink haired girl stated as she looked up at Macintosh, who immediately recognized her, with an embarrassed blush.

"Are ya feeling a bit Loopy Miss...?" he questioned leadingly, not taking any chances.

"Oh, I'm sorry! My name is Fluttershy Akashiya. It's nice to meet you. I feel much better now." she said with a small bow. Straightening, she averted her eyes from his gaze only for them to widen suddenly.

"Ah! Your cheek, you're bleeding!"

Pulling out a small handkerchief she moved to clean the small cut, before seeming to go into a daze.

"Oh, the scent of blood. I...I...can't - I lose control when I smell that scent. I'm sorry. I can't help it, because I'm a Vampire."

Before Big Mac could even attempt to process that, the Unawake human version of his friend had closed the distance between them and using surprising strength pulled him in close and bit at his neck. He stiffened, but didn't push her away. His Loop memories didn't say anything about Vampires being a common thing in this Loop, but he had dealt with partial pictures before. Whether he was going to turn himself was uncertain, he wasn't sure how Vampirism worked here, but either way it was too late to do anything now and Unawake or not he refused to hurt his friends. Besides it didn't actually hurt all that much, he wasn't the type to overreact to something like this.

Once she had finished her macabre snack, Fluttershy pulled back with a sigh. "Oh thank you, your blood was very tasty. I know I don't really look like it, but I'm actually a Vampire. I hope you don't hate me."

Mac nodded his understanding, the previous events and her words beforehand had made that perfectly clear.

"Its fine."

"Thank you so much, you don't know how much that means to me. I was feeling lonely since I don't know anyone here, but now I feel so much better. If you're willing I'd like to be friends."

Well that was simple enough.

"Ah'd like that Miss Fluttershy."

-x-X-x-

Halfway around the world Twilight Sparkle Woke Up. Taking a quick peek into her Loop memories, she quickly summed up the main points. She was now, and always had been, human. She was a student at Canterlot High. She was apparently taking Fluttershy's place in their group of friends, the pink haired girl and her family having moved somewhere far away almost a decade beforehand. Applejack and the Apple family were also gone, having left only a few years later. AJ's place in the group had been filled by Sunset, who had apparently Awoken shortly after exiting the Mirror and had thus managed to avoid hurting anyone.

"Huh. This is different."

"It's a good different though, or at least mostly." Realizing she had been in the middle of a conversation with Sunset, Twilight nodded.

"True, and wherever they are Fluttershy and Applejack are able to take care of themselves. So, do you have any new plans to try and redeem Sonata this Loop?"

Sunset grinned.

-x-X-x-

Shortly after reaching the campus which had been their destination the pair had been forced to part ways, Mac heading to his homeroom while Fluttershy went to speak with the Headmaster. Currently Mac was taking a look around the classroom where he was seated. To his surprise he actually recognized two people with him. The first was a human version of Blueblood, currently reclining arrogantly in his chair looking for all the world as if everyone around him was beneath his notice. In other words, exactly the same as usual. The second was standing in front of the class giving a speech. Not unexpected considering she was the instructor.

"Hello everyone, and welcome to Youkai Academy. I am your homeroom teacher Cheerilee Nekonome. I'm sure you all are already aware of this, but this is a school for monsters."

Mac perked up at this. Explanations were always good to have whenever certain things didn't match up with in-Loop memories, and the existence of Vampires definitely counted.

"As of now, the world is under control of the humans. In order for us monsters to continue to survive we have no choice but to continue to live alongside them. Therefore at this Academy, you will be studying 'How to coexist with humans.'" the energetic teacher emphasized this by pointing dramatically to a large, if poorly drawn, diagram which took up the majority of the blackboard.

"For that reason, school rule number one is that all students must maintain their human disguises at all times except for in extreme circumstances. School rule number two is no student must ever tell another what their true form is for any reason. Do you all understand?"

"Feh, Such ridiculous rules. Hey Teacher, wouldn't it be simpler to just eat any humans we found. That's what I would do."

Cheerilee frowned and took a look at the seating chart. "You are...Blueblood Kamiya correct? Well there's no chance of that happening, because everyone here both teacher and student are monsters. No exceptions. This school is sealed within a powerful barrier, if any humans did manage to find their way inside... they'd be killed on the spot. Or something."

...Well shoot. That complicated things. According to his memories he was completely human, so how did he even end up in a school like this anyway? Taking a harder look at his memories he soon found the answer. It looked like this was actually a fused Loop, and not a different one entirely like he had thought. His family had moved around a lot over the years and as a result his education had suffered. Therefore after they had settled in Japan he had had difficulty getting into a local high school. His father, and it was always nice to have a chance to see him and his mother again, had found a flyer advertising the Youkai Academy and before he knew it he had been on the bus.

Somehow Discord had managed to be weirder as a bus driver than as the Spirit of Chaos.

Any further thought on the issue was cut off by the sound of the door sliding open. Standing in the entrance was the familiar figure of Fluttershy, her bag held in front of her as she gave an apologetic bow.

"I'm sorry I'm late. I got a bit lost after the Entrance Ceremony."

Cheerilee waved off the pinkette's apology with a smile. "Oh its no problem. Come up and introduce yourself."

Big Mac watched as Fluttershy moved to stand in front of the class, and gave her introduction. He could have done without the whispered muttering which followed however. Yes she was attractive, he would have had to be blind not to see that and more stubborn than Applejack not to admit it, but even so the class was behaving as if they had never seen a pretty girl before. Of course as the only calm person in the room he stood out from the crowd and as a result was easily noticed by Fluttershy from where she was standing. Big Mac was quickly reminded of the fact that however much she looked like her, this was not the person he had known for thousands of Loops as she all but flew across the room and grabbed him in a flying hug. Much to the dismay of his classmates.

-x-X-x-

There was always something just plain uncomfortable about Waking Up in a relationship with one of his friends, and it was rarely a simple effort to explain the situation in a way where there were no hard feelings. Walking down the hallways with a Vampire version of Fluttershy pulling him along beside her while clinging onto his arm was quickly bringing up the same awkward sensation and the resulting death glares from the surrounding students didn't help the issue. Nor did the fact that technically he was a completely average human in a school of monsters.

Although he could always take care of any problematic situations that came up using the few abilities he had kept from other Loops, he preferred to leave that as a last resort and rely on in-Loop abilities unless provoked. Which, again, left him at the tender mercies of a hostile student body. A fact of which he was keenly aware, especially as he felt a spike of Killing Intent just as Blueblood stepped into their path.

"You are Fluttershy Akashiya correct?"

Without bothering to wait for an answer, Big Mac abruptly found himself dangling a foot off the ground by his lapel. Immediately he forced himself to push down the surge of green which made to overtake his sight, although he did allow himself to grip his attackers wrist hard enough to draw Blueblood's attention. He responded by throwing him down the hallway into a nearby vending machine.

"Please enlighten me as to why a Lady of such beauty as yourself would associate herself with a person like this."

"Macintosh!"

Fluttershy attempted to rush over to Mac's aid, but was pulled up short by Blueblood's grip upon her shoulder.

"Wouldn't someone like myself be a far more superior option than a weakling like this. Why don't you and I go somewhere and get to know one another a little better."

This suggestion was made with a sleazy grin, which Fluttershy luckily remained unaware of due to her focus on where Mac was getting to his feet. For his part, Mac was trying to decide whether he might actually _need_ to utilize some of his abilities. Blueblood's strike was unfortunately similar to some of the attacks he had had to deal with as the Hulk, and if Narrative Causality had taught him anything it was that the first enemy was always the weakest. Which meant if things continued to escalate, he might find himself running out of other options sooner rather than later.

Unaware of her Looping friend's thoughts Fluttershy, as politely as possible of course, brushed aside Blueblood's hand and rushed to Mac's side; grabbing his arm and pulling him behind her as she fled.

"No thank you. I'm sorry, but I'm having fun with Macintosh." she called back over her shoulder as she ran, not bothering to look back as she did so. As a result she completely missed the white knuckled fist Blueblood made as she so easily ignored him, as well as the dark look on his face which promised ill things to come.

-x-X-x-

After their impromptu race through the halls the duo found themselves recovering on the roof of the Academy. In the distance the moon shone out over the cemetery and the red ocean waters, while overhead the sun beamed down brightly allowing them to take in the full sight of the school grounds. While the view wasn't exactly the most interesting to Big Mac, Fluttershy appeared to enjoy it; monsters apparently had odd ideas of what a pleasant environment was supposed to look like.

"That was scary, are you sure you're alright Macintosh?" Fluttershy said, flittering worriedly around him as she checked for injuries.

"Ah'm fine, just a bump on th' head. An' Ah told ya, Ah'd prefer ya ta call me Big Mac."

"Oh, I forgot." she punctuated this by tapping her fist gently against her head with a sheepish smile. "I was just so worried. Blueblood hit you really hard."

"It's fine, nothin' ah ain't dealt with before." Mac denied. "So that's th' power of a monster here huh?"

Fluttershy giggled and patted Big Mac on the back playfully.

"You're silly Big Mac. You act as if this is your first time seeing a monster."

Mac chuckled ruefully from his new position on the ground. _'Not even close. An Ah definitely need to brush off some a mah Loop skills.'_

Standing up and dusting off his uniform Mac turned to face Fluttershy who gave him a blinding smile.

"Let's keep having fun. We should check out the rest of the Academy."

Big Mac nodded agreement and the two headed off. Not long after, having explored the rest of the campus they found themselves in front of a large decaying property which looked as if it was ready to be torn down.

"This is the dormitory where we'll be staying. Isn't it wonderful, such a dignified building; so full of character. It's perfect for us monsters."

Taking another look at their apparent home for the next several years, or however long the Loop typically lasted, Mac gave a deadpan stare. Again, monsters' taste in architecture was odd. That aside, after looking closer he could see that despite outward appearances it did seem to be rather sturdy; and from what he could see through the windows the inside looked more normal than the entrance would suggest . Still, disregarding the housing situation for now, something else was bothering him.

"About that, ya'll look perfectly normal ta me. Ya don't really seem like a monster, an I don't feel comfortable calling ya one."

Fluttershy smiled and gestured to a small Rosary hanging around her neck, and uncomfortably close to her cleavage for Mac who quickly averted his gaze.

"Only right now. I know I don't look like a Vampire, but that's all because of this Rosary. If I remove it though, then I take on my true form, a super scary Vampire. My real self caused me to be all alone, so that's why I wear this protective seal. Normally Vampires are hated and feared, so I've never had any friends before I met you."

Mac frowned.

"That don't seem very fair, yer a real nice gal an ya shouldn't have ta hide who ya are to fit in. Don't ya worry none, Ah promise ya I won't ever hate ya and Ah ain't afraid of ya neither."

Fluttershy's eyes widened, tears gathering in the corners, before Big Mac suddenly found himself on the ground again; pinned by the happy pinkette as she stared gratefully down at him.

"Thank you so much, I know we'll be best friends forever."

Mac just blushed brightly as he took in his situation. A cold shower would have been nice right about then, especially as the gaze of the young woman above him grew unfocused and she began to draw closer.

"You know, until today I've never had fresh blood before. I always had to drink from transfusion packs. You're my first. I'll never forget that, the taste, the sensation..."

"Wait, wha?"

Before Mac knew what was happening, Fluttershy had already bitten him again.

-x-X-x-

The next day Mac headed out early so that he could take a look around the campus. Despite the appearance of the Dormitories, the rest of the school looked rather normal. Ignoring the nearby cemetery and nearly dead trees of course. Some of the other students, his classmates he supposed, were also moving about the pathway and Mac was able to overhear some of their conversations. Nothing overly abnormal stood out in most of them, although he made a mental note to avoid the Biology Club in the future.

Walking towards the school as the traffic began to pick up he saw an unfortunately familiar figure leaning on a nearby tree. His attempt to ignore Blueblood was unfortunately unsuccessfully as the Loop's version of the stuck up noble grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Hold on there Casanova. You had a lot of fun yesterday with Fluttershy Akashiya..." he stated arrogantly, before grabbing Mac by the coat and slamming him against a nearby wall. "And you're going to pay for it today."

Mac once again felt a rush of energy surge into his body, accompanied by a primal roaring in his ears, however eons of experience allowed him to control how much of the power he allowed himself to tap into and he simply gripped Blueblood's wrist tightly. Blueblood hissed as the bones in his arms began to bend under the force being applied, and slammed Mac harder into the tree.

"You're not as pathetic as I had thought. Your true form, what is it?!"

"Ah'm human." Mac replied tersely, not willing to lie. Having the Element of Honesty as his little sister probably had something to do with that. However his efforts to control his inner beast added a bit of edge to his normally laid-back tone as he tightened his grip, and Blueblood bones audibly groaned under the pressure. Blueblood grimaced before throwing him to the side.

"Bullshit! No pathetic human could be that strong. Don't screw around with me!" he roared as is fist bulged hideously and he slammed it into the wall, demolishing it. Mac stared back unaffected by the casual destruction; He had seen and done far worse.

"Tch. Whatever. Don't go near Fluttershy again. If you even talk to her, you're dead."

Watching as Blueblood left, massaging his arm, Mac sighed. Around him the remaining students avoided his gaze and quickly moved on, obviously not believing his words any more than Blueblood had.

Standing to his feet Mac examined his uniform for damage, and seeing that other than being a little dirty it was still fine turned around to resume his interrupted exploration. Only to come face to face with a stunned Fluttershy, her hands held in front of her face as she stared in tearful disbelief.

"You can't be... you were just lying right? You can't be a human, you just can't!"

Unfortunately Mac's silence as he tried to come up with a way to explain without lying seemed to push her over the edge, and without another word she turned and fled.

"Ah, Fewmets."

-x-X-x-

Fluttershy ran through the forest at the edge of the campus unseeing, her eyes blinded by tears as she recalled memories of isolation and bullying from the past.

 _'No! No way! The first friend I ever had... I finally though I had made a friend! But all along he was a human! It's not fair. It's not fair! Why?!'_

Collapsing against a tree she pulled her knees in close and wrapped her arms around them, as if to protect her from the painful memories as she sobbed.

 _'I hate those humans! They were always so cruel, as if it were better that I had never existed.'_

Her mind replayed the harsh words and actions from the students at her previous schools. They had been so mean, calling her names because they didn't believe in monsters; making her into an outcast just because they thought she was weird.

Abruptly she paused as she remembered Big Mac's words from the previous day.

Macintosh was her friend. Her first and only friend. He had said that no matter what he didn't hate her. But when when he told her his own secret she had run away from him. She... she was a terrible friend. How could she just leave him like that? She wasn't any better than the humans from before.

So what if Big Mac was a human? He was her friend and that was all that really mattered. If he could accept her for being a Vampire than she would do the same. Wiping her eyes she stood determinedly. She had to go back. She had to make things right. Even if... even if Big Mac didn't forgive her she had to try.

However upon turning back to the school her way was blocked by a familiar blonde figure. "Well now, what a surprise. Why is such a beautiful woman like you all alone?"

Moving closer, casually invading her personal space without a thought, he grinned a twisted smile before grabbing her wrist and yanking her into his arms. "Why should you be alone, when you can be with someone like me?"

Fluttershy struggled against Blueblood's grasp, his breath far to close to her face and his arms holding her even closer against his chest. Her writhing managed to loosen one of her own arms and she pushed against him, trying to get away.

"Let me go! Please."

Blueblood laughed, a sickening mockery of a sound as he leaned in closer. "Truly your beauty is one of a kind. Far superior to any of those humans I've taken. I must have you as my own!"

"NO!"

Fluttershy lashed out, her nails gouging a trail down Blueblood's face and causing him to recoil. She quickly scrambled out of his reach. However instead of becoming angry Blueblood laughed even harder.

"Yes, perfect. That's just how I like my women. I can't help myself, when I get like this I can't hold back. I can't even hold my human form."

And indeed, giving truth to his words, he had begun to grow; his school uniform beginning to strain at the seams as his body swelled. His arms bulged grotesquely as they tore his shirt and jacket into tatters, while his shoes were reduced to scraps as he became to large for them to contain any longer.

Finally the transformation was complete and he stood tall, having shed the illusion of humanity and revealed his inner beast. He was easily ten feet in height and at least half that in width. Both of his arms were easily as large around as Fluttershy and were slightly longer, nearly reaching to the ground and topped with vicious claws while his torso was packed with wiry cords of dense muscles as well as several bony protrusions.

Gone was the cultured appearance which he had done his best to maintain in class, replaced by a feral savagery. His teeth had come together into sharp points, clearly that of a carnivorous predator and his eyes had lost any semblance of civility which they had held, replaced by cold cruelty and inhumane hunger made all the worse by the intelligence guiding it. Worst of all however was his tongue, which had extended by more than a foot and moved in a manner which screamed of cruel intent.

In the span of a few moments Blueblood had become a horrific monster, his true self. Towering over Fluttershy's stunned form he grinned a bestial smile, filled with teeth and malice. "I'm going to enjoy removing that spirited attitude."

A small part of Fluttershy's mind identified Blueblood as an Orc, a half-breed monster with mixed heritage. The rest of her mind however was preoccupied with screaming in terror.

-x-X-x-

Mac frowned as he moved through the underbrush, trying to follow the trail left by Fluttershy in her rush. Even if she wasn't the Fluttershy he knew, that didn't mean he wasn't still her friend. Friends never left each other when they were troubled and it didn't take Mac's experience as a bartender to tell that this version of Fluttershy was clearly troubled. Mac wasn't the type of pony, or human, to leave that be if it was something he could help.

"Dangit, where'd she run of ta?"

Of course, she could have made it easier. Any further musing however came to a screeching halt as the sound of a piercing scream echoed through the forest. A familiar scream.

"Right. Ferget this."

Reaching into his soul he found the barrier which held his inner beast at bay. Then he tore it open. Moments later the only thing in the area was a trail of shattered trees and upturned earth as a hulking creature tore through it's surroundings towards the source of the cry.

-x-X-x-

Blueblood was having a wonderful time. By pure chance he had managed to come across the current target of his attention. Even better, they were completely alone with no one to hear her scream anywhere around. Grabbing the terrified woman by the arms he lifted her into the air, bringing her close to his face; his tongue caressing the side of her face in a warped parody of a lover's touch.

"What's the matter Fluttershy? Why don't you transform? Aren't you going to fight back?" he taunted.

Mustering her nerve Fluttershy gave him a glare. "It's against the rules to reveal your true form."

Blueblood threw his head back and laughed before returning his attention to his captured prize. "We're not in the school right now, their rules don't matter."

Fluttershy's eyes widened in fear as Blueblood's widely grinning face moved closer to her own and she began to struggle harder. Luckily for her before her captor could complete his action a large figure appeared out of the forest and struck him in the jaw, causing him to drop her as he stumbled under the blow.

Fluttershy stared up in numb horror as a second behemoth stood over her with fist outstretched.

-x-X-x-

Upon reaching the clearing where he had heard Fluttershy's shout Mac tore through the surrounding trees. The first thing he saw was a figure which bore an eerily similar appearance to Abomination, from the Loop where he had first Replaced the person who's power's he was now using. Less than a second after that he recognized the person hanging from the figure's grip. The sight resulted in only one thought in Mac's mind, one which both halves of himself fully agreed upon.

 _'Mac Smash.'_

Moments later he had crossed the distance and planted his fist firmly into the unknown enemy's face. Forcing himself to stay in control he turned to check on Fluttershy, and seeing that she appeared to be unharmed returned his focus to his recovering foe. Not that he was willing to give him time to do so.

"Wha th hll?"

That was all Blueblood was able to say around his sore jaw, before Mac charged him again with an uppercut. This was immediately followed by a hay-maker, before he grabbed him by the arm and slammed him into the ground. Not giving his opponent a second to get his bearings he grabbed him by the ankle and spinning around twice, launched him over the side of the hill toward the roadway.

Only once he had made sure his enemy was down, did he turn back to Fluttershy who flinched at his gaze. Breathing mildly heavy he approached her, frowning as she shied away.

"Are... ya'll... alright."

Mac was beginning to regret not spending more time actually practicing with his abilities, rather than just his control. Although it did make it easier to ignore the cries of his darker half to go finish what he had started.

"M-macintosh? But... but how? I thought you said you were human?"

Mac grimaced. "Long... story. Tell... later."

Reaching down he lifted Fluttershy from the ground, his current size allowing his hand to almost completely fit around her waist. Once on her feet, Fluttershy tentatively reached forward to place her hand on Mac's arm. Turning to stare into Mac's eyes, her own widened as she caught sight of something. At the same time Mac's senses yelled at him and he turned quickly to face the furious form of Blueblood as he charged him.

Reaching behind him without looking, Mac tried to move Fluttershy out of the way just as Blueblood came into range with roar. Two things happened then. Firstly Blueblood's fist came crashing into Mac's chest, pushing him off balance as he rolled with the attack. Secondly Mac's hand caught against the Rosary Fluttershy wore, and with an unheard clink, tore it off.

As Mac regained his footing, he was just in time to watch as Fluttershy was replaced by a more mature silver haired woman with fangs and crimson eyes. Eyes which were glaring death and bloody murder at Blueblood. With a wordless snarl she tore across the ground, closing the distance between her and her target almost faster than Mac could follow. Only his experience allowed him to watch the brutal beating which occurred, and even as fast as his power allowed him to move in the scant seconds which it took him to cross the area she had managed to deal an almost obscene amount of damage.

Placing himself between the barely breathing Blueblood and the murderous woman Mac held his ground, even as she stalked towards him. Coming to a stop directly in front of him, glaring up into his eyes she growled.

"Move."

Despite the seething hate put into the single command, Mac held firm. However he couldn't reason with the unknown woman as he was, and so even knowing the risk he forced back the raging tide of emerald fury within his mind. Soon he had once more returned to his Loop-normal self.

"Ya'll need ta calm down."

If anything Mac's words only served to increase the woman's anger, her eyes flashing.

"I don't know who you are, and right now I don't care. I have put up with this event more times than I can count, and I have long since had enough. This may not be the Saizo I know, but his actions are the same."

Mac frowned. If this was a baseline event for this person than he could understand why she might be more than a little upset. Even still. "That may be true, but if'n ya'll keep try'n ta kill him Ah'll have to stop ya."

The woman smirked. "I have no intention of killing him. Death is too good for the likes of beasts like this and I would never soil my hands on someone so pathetic. Despite how it may appear, I can assure you that he will recover from his injuries."

Here she paused to glare at Blueblood. "However I have no intention of allowing him to walk away without a permanent reminder of his arrogance."

Mac's frown grew. One the one hand he wasn't sure it was a good idea to let this woman deal with Blueblood, however on the other hand his actions and intended actions were unforgivable. And if this was something that occurred every Loop for this woman than her anger was more than justified. In the end it was the thought of what he would do if someone like this were to ever try something like this against Applebloom that made up his mind.

"Ya'll give your word ya won't kill 'em?"

The woman nodded, and with a grimace Mac stood aside. The native Looper strode over to stand over the surprisingly recovered Blueblood with a cold look.

"You who thought he could take by force that which belongs to only one man."

Lifting her leg high into the air she slammed it down hard. Mac winced and subconsciously crossed his legs as Blueblood's eyes shot open and he release a high-pitched scream which lingered throughout the area for several seconds.

Tossing her hair behind her neck elegantly, she turned away dismissively. "Know your place."

-x-X-x-

Shortly afterwards the two exited the woods, neither having spoken during their trip. Only once they had left the treeline did the still unknown woman turn to face Mac with a considering gaze. "Since Tsukune isn't here I'm assuming that you're also a 'Looper' then."

Mac nodded in response.

"I see. My name is Moka Akashiya. I'll admit that this is still new to me, knowing that others are dealing with this as well. I was only recently informed of the nature of the Loops. Unfortunately I have not had an opportunity to speak with Tsukune yet and inform him of what I have learned as for the time being I appear to have been made into a Traveling Looper. Catching up for lost time I suppose."

Reaching into her Pocket she pulled out a small mirror. "I can only hold a few items at the moment, but this is by far one of the most useful. A variant of an item from the Baseline."

Moka turned her gaze to the mirror which released a flash of blinding light. When it cleared Mac was surprised to see the unconscious form of Fluttershy being cradled in Moka's arms. "She does bear a resemblance to my Outer self."

Standing without trouble, despite the sleeping girl in her arms Moka smirked. "Very well, if Tsukune will not be present in this Loop then I suppose I shall just have to make do. First things first, I believe we'll need to speak with the Headmaster about securing quarters for myself. Afterwards I would like to know more about what to expect from a more experienced Looper."

Mac just nodded agreeably as they walked back to the campus. If Moka was new to this, the least he could do was help her adjust. The last thing anyone needed was a misunderstanding like had happened with his own Awakening. Besides, this Loop didn't seem so bad. What was the worst that could happen?

Mac paused.

"Ah, Fewmets. Me an' mah big mouth."

* * *

3.2 – (Terrace)

[Kill la Kill]

It was nice starting the Loop a few days early, Ryuko Matoi reflected. Making a slight detour on her first day at the Academy to pick up Senketsu was nice, but there hadn't been any text messages from the others, so this looked like another lonely Loop.

That was okay, Ryuko already had a prank in mind.

It was easy to go with the Baseline version of events, until a certain meeting occurred.

Derailment point reached. Prank start!

Jumping up at the sight of the Student Council President, Ryuko plastered a huge smile on her face. Jumping over the various students between her and Satsuki, Ruuko launched herself at her sister.

"Onee-chan! I finally found you~!"

Even if this glomp didn't work, the look of shock on Satsuki's face was priceless.

(Crossoverpairinglover)

"..." Ira Gamagoori's jaw was hanging limp in shock.

"I didn't see this coming," Uzu Sanageyama sounded as if he had just found met his future self, who had came to him to tell him to remove his eyes and embrace Nudism.

"Well, this might change things," Nonon Jakuzure sounded rather surprised by the whole thing.

"It would appear my data was deficient" Houka Inumuta deadpanned.

"Well duh Dog, I would think so," Jakuzure pointed to the paralyzed in shock Satsuki who was still being hugged by the black haired transfer student who was apparently her long lost sister.

"Perhaps you should remove her..." Sanageyma suggested to Gamagoori, gesturing to the long lost sister who was making Satsuki look far less terrifying than she was supposed to be to the nameless masses.

"No...not now," Gamagoori did not want to be the guy to attempt to remove the long lost sister of Satsuki (Who Satsuki had a lot of plans for avenging set up and in the works as he thought this). Gamagoori was a fan of pain...but the result of intervening now would be far too much pain. "Instead, we should remove the students and make them forget what they just saw."

"Very well...I always did want to experiment with mind wiping people," Inumuta looked a bit too amused at the prospect of mass mind wiping.

* * *

3.3 - (Tabac Iberez)

[Girl und Panzer]

Miho was sweating furiously. They had won the Tankery tournament again somehow, and Miho was really nervous. The last time they had won, she had been sent back to do it again. Blinking, she accepted the pennant, and held it high in the air. The setting sun reflected merrily off the gold thread and the red cloth, and she had to smile. It wasn't as hard this time, she thought idly. Knowing what she would be facing had made it easier, and it had almost seemed familiar. Anzio's trickery, Saunder's uniform armor... even Black Forrest's hammer and anvil strategies lost much of their effectiveness.

Going to bed that night, Miho smiled a little. She had always been used to routine, and it comforted her. What was this, except a routine writ large?

-x-X-x-

Grumbling, Miho got out of bed. Ignoring the pulsing clock, she grabbed her notebook and scratched out a simple sentence. _Repeat #45_. This done, she turned off the alarm clock and got ready for school. Time to do the thing she did. Only, as she pulled on her tie, a thought came to her. What if she changed things a little? Things still followed cause and affect, she knew, but how much of what happened was scripted and how much wasn't? Taking the notebook, she cracked her knuckles and started sketching out her plan. Step 1, get the upgrading done and out of the way with. Step 2, train them up _right_. Step 3...

Well, Step 3 was still a little nebulous. Miho knew it involved something that would shock and amaze. Perhaps a little demonstration with Black Forrest Peak to show them the taste of crow? No, that would be asking too much. Finally, Miho came up with it. Smiling, she skipped off to school.

-x-X-x-

The announcers faces were flabbergasted. The audiance was stunned. The match was over. Somehow, by some act of dark sorcery, the Type 89 I-Go had taken out the Saunder's flag tank without moving an inch! As her team stared at Miho, she stepped out from her tank, yawned dramatically, and gave Duck Tank a friendly pat on the side.

"And that is why I love math." Miho said, grinning. "So, who wants to learn how I planed that?"

The hands of all the gunners went up simultaneously. Miho just dug around for a spiral notebook, and opened it up. Inside was a mess of physics and trigonometry that would make many a graphing calculator groan. The Tankery team just oggled. "This too," Miho intoned, "Is Sensha-do."

* * *

3.4 – (Firehawk242)

[Hellsing/Winx]

Flora officially hated this loop. So far she'd been shot, turned into a vampire, stabbed repeatedly by a crazed Catholic priest, suffered numerous indignities at the hands of the demented vampire who was her new boss, been called Police Girl so many times that she'd just given up on teaching anyone her real name, and now their headquarters was under attack by a pair of even more demented vampires leading an army of ghouls. And of course, Flora thought, looking at the thing she was holding, the universe had given her yet another gun. She didn't like guns. She never wanted to like guns. Still, she had to admit, the Harkonnen was a very nice gun. In any case, she and the butler Walter had gone out to confront one of the vampires attacking the mansion.

She really didn't like this loop.

"Police girl, if you would?" Walter said.

Flora sighed and stared down the sights of her nice new gun. She was tempted to quote what her boss had said when he requisitioned, or rather extorted, this gun for her, but she refrained. She took aim and pulled the trigger, mowing down half a dozen armored vampire zombies.

-x-X-x-

Using the police training she'd gotten from her loop memories, Flora tackled the vampire to the ground and pinned him. Walter attempted to interrogate him, but he was nothing if not defiant. And profane, which Flora did not enjoy, but mostly just defiant.

A noise startled her and the man escaped from her hold. He sprang about like the demented lunatic he was, acting as if he was merely putting on a show. "And now for the upcoming company picnic." Ghouls wearing the uniform of Hellsing's security forces appeared in the doorway. "Unfortunately all your douchebag coworkers are bringing is their own rotten flesh. Still better than potato salad if you ask me. Now, if'n you don't mind, imma go eat that Hellsing b**ch!" He jumped over them and hurried towards the conference room.

Flora let him go. She had other problems to worry about. The army of ghouls was bearing down on her and Walter. She considered her options for a moment. The people from this world would certainly kill these ghouls, but Flora couldn't bring herself to do it. These were people she'd worked with, and even if they were ghouls, they were still them. She couldn't do it.

"Police girl, take them out," Walter said.

No. She was done with this loop. Done with its blood, its misery, and its death. It was time to start playing by her own rules. "Enchatix!" Flora shouted.

-x-X-x-

"Ah, and just like that, everything turned out alright in the end," Alucard said.

"Yes, everything turned out just fine," Sir Integra said. "Except that ninety percent of our staff were killed, turned into ghouls, then resurrected by the Police Girl when she grew wings and threw glitter at them, and now she has her own personal cult."

There was a moment of silence as Alucard processed this. "...What."

-x-X-x-

Flora held one of the men she'd saved as he tearfully thanked her. She smiled gently as he slowly stopped sobbing from relief. She'd done some real good here. Maybe this loop wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

3.5 – (farsan)

[Gurren Lagann]

My first Loops, frankly, were quite a mess. At that time I believed that I was somehow still trapped at the Anti Spirals' labyrinth of alternate dimensions, so I started struggling against them.

True to my Spiral heritage, with every turn of the time, my Spiral power grew stronger, and also learned how to teach my allies how to fully use the Spiral power... until, finally, the universe finally gave way.

As the Anti Spirals had predicted, the sheer amount of Spiral Power concentrated in a small area made the universe collapse unto itself, dragging and destroying everything. In my folly, I believed that I had finally won against the hostile Anti-Universe I was trapped in, triggering the very same thing they had feared.

But I was wrong. Deadly wrong.

Before, when I entered Fused Loops, I just blazed my way defeating any new foe I encountered in my path, trying to 'win' against the alternate dimension in order to fight the Anti Spirals as soon as possible... but after destroying my universe I found myself in a place I wasn't able to ignore.

In that place, the Spiral Power was a force of corruption, a force of obsession, that had started to envelope a small town. I wasn't able to save anyone from their own minds, and when I tried to summon my own Spiral Power to fight the monstruosities the villagers became... I was also infected by the spirals.

I won't tell you my experiences when I were under the influence of the Spiral infection. Suffice to say that, when that Loop was over, and I found that my Spiral Energy was still corrupted after I Awoke back at my home village, I did something that I didn't consider doing in a million years.

I surrendered to the enemy. Completely.

As soon as I got Lagann, I made it teleport directly to Nia, who still was Lord Genome's obedient daughter, and I begged her, or rather begged the Anti Spiral's envoy, to dunk me in the Sea of Despair before it was too late.

Anti Spiral Nia was activated, and discovered the evil Spiral strain that I was barely holding in, so she quickly granted my request and teleported me to the Anti Spiral dimension.

I lived the rest of the Loop at a small home Anti Spiral created for me at the middle of the Sea of Despair in company of Anti Nia, being drained of every iota of Spiral Power I had accumulated over the Loops. Anti Spiral could have made it quite more uncomfortable for me, but I guess that my sacrifice made it respect me, as it reminded it of its own sacrifice.

When I finally ran out of Spiral Energy, and died, I Awoke again at my home village; drained but purified. And I resolved to learn more about the Spiral Power and the force that was keeping me trapped, and in turn I learned about the Loops and the other universes... but that is another story that shall be told another time.

* * *

3.6 – (Wildrook)

[Infinite Stratos/Shaolin Showdown]

Jack Spicer and Wuya were speechless at the destruction the visiting Looper had caused.

"I think I may have overdone it," Ichika Orimura in Byakushiki muttered. "Oops."

"Oops!?" Jack yelled, shock turning into blind rage. "YOU DESTROYED THE LAIR OF JACK SPICER, AND ALL YOU CAN SAY IS OOPS!? ALL MY HARD WORK ON THE TSUNDERE RAY, AND YOU DESTROY MY ENTIRE LAB! WHAT KIND OF REACTION DID YOU HAVE AGAINST MY INVENTION, ANYWAYS!?"

Ichika gave Jack a blank stare. "Obviously, I didn't introduce myself," he said. "My name's Ichika Orimura, Anchor of the Infinite Stratos Branch, First Male IS Pilot, and the Federation's Unlucky Charm."

"Oh..."

That was all Jack could say. No wonder he had a bad reaction...but destroying his lab?

Wuya then gave Ichika a stare as the IS Pilot flew away, leaving Jack stunned.

"You know," Jack said, "maybe that wasn't the best of ideas I had...what kind of people does he work with?"

"I don't know," Wuya muttered, "but I'm relieved the Shen Gon Wu are indestructible."

* * *

3.7 - (jxz)

(Selector Infected WIXOSS)

START UNIVERSE, DESIGNATION "WIXOSS"? Y/N

Y

STARTING ANCHOR, RUKO KOMINATO...

STARTING SOUL-BOUND LOOPER MAYU (TAMA, YUKI), APPLYING GRIMA PATCH...

UNIVERSE READY... STARTING...

Ruko woke up in a jump. She had had the same nightmare she had when she met Tama for the first time.

"Why did I have that nightmare again? I know I miss Tama, but..." She said to herself, but stopped when she heard something on her drawer.

"Huh? Why is it so dark?"

'It can't be...' Ruko thought, as she hurried up to open the drawer.

There, a lonely card appeared. A card that contained someone.

Tama, her once LRIG and best friend, was trapped again in her card, and she looked as confused and shocked as the girl.

"T- Tama?!"

"Ruu?! What happened to Tama?!" The first of the original LRIGs exclaimed.

"I don't know!" Ruko said. "Do you think Mayu did this?"

"No... Mayu didn't do this, Tama knows... Or atleast Tama thinks so..." Tama said.

"Then what would have happened?" The Selector asked.

"Tama doesn't know... Maybe Yuki knows?"

"But how do we find her?" Ruko pondered.

"If Yuki knows, Yuki will go to school to find us... That is, if Yuki knows what happened."

"Yeah... I guess you're right, Tama. How did you became so smart?"

"Hey! Tama's smart! Ruu, meanie!"

And with that, Ruko started preparing herself for school, in hopes that the answers were there.

It turns out, they traveled back in time.

They realized this when Yuzuki challenged them to a battle, with Hanayo as her LRIG. They didn't remember her, nor did Kazuki when she met him.

'This is too weird...' Ruko thought, thing that Tama did too. If they were back in time, maybe Mayu did something before dying, a last move to make them feel dispair.

The day passed uneventfully for the Selector and LRIG, until it was nighttime.

"Ruu, someone's looking for you! she says she's called Yuki!"

'Yuki?!' "L-let her pass!" Ruko said. There was only one person she knew with that name...

And surely enough, the girl who appeared on her door was the body of who once was Iona Urazoe.

She smiled. "Hello, Ruu."

"Yuki!" Both Ruko and Tama declared, the Selector hugging the original Black LRIG. "You remember!"

"Yes, and I'm glad you two do too." Yuki said, smiling and ruffling Ruko's hair.

Then she frowned. "But we have worse problems than time travel. Mayu and Ulith are still alive."

Ruko nodded. "Yes, I guessed so. But why?"

"That, I don't know." Yuki said. "But for now, the only thing we can do is free all LRIGs from their cards."

Tama nodded strongly. "Yuki's right! Ruu, let's free the girls!"

"Alright, alright. We do need to see Mayu and ask her what's happening." Ruko declared, as she pointed Tama to the sky, as Yuki held the Selector's free hand.

"OPEN!"

* * *

3.8 - (Detective Ethan Redfield)

[The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]

A lot of the Anchors I've spoken with in fused Loops have mentioned how lonely it is when nobody else from their world is Looping. From what they tell me it's a real problem in the first couple hundred loops, when the Anchor is the only one Looping at all. For me this really wasn't a problem, since I only had a handful of Loops before the first of my fellow members of the SOS Brigade began Looping... though I could have done without the method used to start each of them off.

Not that Haruhi was one of them. I didn't learn that Haruhi was Looping until a long time after she began- but I'll save that story for later.

On either my fifth or sixth Loop my first visit to Nagato's apartment took a turn for the unexpected, when after the usual explanation of Yuki's alien nature and my importance in relation to Haruhi Suzumiya, she continued, "Also, the Data Overmind has noticed a temporal anomaly about you."

I was new to the Loops, so I didn't know yet what to do when history rewrote the script. "A temporal what?"

Nagato looked over her glasses. I kept forgetting how intimidating she looks when wearing those- I like her face better without them, especially since they're only for show. "Your data appears to gain density from an unknown source beginning with the first day of the school term and ending roughly two years from now," she said. "The Overmind has determined that, although data prior to and after those points is still accessible, our ability to manipulate it has been sharply limited. No apparent cause can be determined for this condition, but the Overmind suspects a temporal recursion that may be insulating the past and future from current events."

If you think I wished for Koizumi to be present to translate, you couldn't be more mistaken if you tried.

"So what you're saying is," I said carefully, "there's something about the events between my arrival at North High and some point about two years from now that you can't figure out."

"That is an acceptable approximation."

"Then I think I can tell you something you don't know." If I tried to make a sentence I'd have been less likely to say to Nagato, I don't think I could have succeeded.

Nagato's eyes widened just slightly. For a normal human being that would have been a jaw dropping and hitting the tabletop. "Explain," she said.

So I did. I told her about my experiencing the same events over and over, always beginning more or less the same way, changing only according to what I did differently... until this conversation, which had never happened before. And, after the time period ran out, I was sent back to the start, with everything being reset, even my body, as if I hadn't done anything.

When I finished speaking, Yuki didn't ask me any questions. She simply stood up and said, "This is new information. The Data Overmind will require some time to assess it." She walked over to the sliding door to her bedroom, opening it. She looked over her shoulder long enough to say, "Excuse me." Then, without saying good night or asking me to leave or anything, she shut the door behind her, leaving me alone in her living room.

What the hell, Nagato?

At this point I missed a clue, a very large clue indeed. After several times living the same two years over and over, with nothing unexpected and with the SOS Brigade at my side for most of it, I'd grown complacent about the unexpected. No, complacent isn't the word- let's be honest, I was lazy. I saw a thing, but I was so used to Nagato or Koizumi spotting important things and pointing them out that I'd quit looking for them myself. That was stupid, and if my brain had been working out at all I would have wondered what it meant- what the thing I saw meant.

Originally Nagato never opened up the door to her bedroom on that first visit. That was because the room was time-locked, with Mikuru and myself sleeping our way forward in time from that fateful Tanbata night almost three years before. This was a thing what had always been, because it had to be, because it was. If that sentence confuses you, all I can say is it makes a lot more sense after you've lived through such a thing.

I never thought about the fact that I saw a glimpse of Nagato's bedroom- Nagato's painfully empty bedroom- until the next afternoon, when it was too late.

-x-X-x-

Ryouko Asakura's "love note" had been one of the first things I'd dealt with in those initial Loops. The first time I'd simply tried to out-argue her, taking advantage of hindsight to answer the rhetorical questions she'd asked right before trying to kill me. That hadn't worked at all. After that I showed the letter to Nagato, who had accompanied me to the appointment, keeping the fight a lot shorter and less dramatic. The last time Ryouko hadn't even fought, and we'd spent the rest of that Loop with the class president stubbornly refusing to travel any closer to Canada than Fukushima.

But this time, when I went to find Nagato and show her the note, I couldn't. She wasn't in her classroom or in the club room, either at lunch or at the end of classes. I had to walk back to class 1-5, the Classroom of Death By Stabby Alien Girls, by myself.

And when I got there, it wasn't Asakura waiting for me. It was both Asakura and Nagato.

What the HELL, Nagato?

"Tell me, Kyon," Asakura said, "You've seen history when I attempt to kill you and Nagato here defeats me. Could you describe the events which follow? Does Suzumiya do anything interesting?"

I like to think so, but I'd prefer not to tell a murderous radical alien anything useful.

Then Nagato said, "Please answer the question." There was a faint quality to her voice I couldn't quite figure out, but it wasn't the usual soft whisper. There was something... not urgent, but... I don't know, but it set me off-balance.

"Well," I said, "there were a couple of incidents of closed space- you know about closed space, right? And then Haruhi got annoyed enough that she was ready to remake the world, and for some reason I still don't understand she decided to take me along with her. And without explaining why, I managed to persuade her that this world was worth keeping around for a while longer. After that there was this and that, now and again, mostly minor things."

Asakura shook her head. "How disappointing," she said. "You had a chance to witness the creation of an entire new reality, and you turned it down? That's exactly the kind of thing that's going to get you killed, you know."

Oh, I don't think so. Nagato will protect me, won't you?

"There has been a reorganization of the Data Overmind," Nagato said. "With the knowledge of your temporal recursion, it has been decided that the experiment of ending your life prematurely may be risked without serious danger to the universe."

"Which means," Asakura said with that chilling smile, "that Nagato has been demoted. I'm now the senior interface studying Haruhi Suzumiya. And we're eager to see what she does when she finds you dead in this very classroom."

Nagato had stopped looking at me. She was looking everywhere except at me.

"But for some reason Nagato has insisted that she be the one to carry out the murder," Asakura said, pouting. "Denying me my fun. I could have given you an entertaining last few moments, Kyon. A lot better than the boring way out she'll give you."

What? Nagato's going to kill me? This can't be! Nagato was always the one I could count on, the one I could always trust! How could you do this, Nagato?

"It will be painless," she said quietly, still not looking at me.

I tried to run for the classroom door, but my body refused to move. Not a muscle. I couldn't even draw breath. Nagato, don't you do it!

"Forgive me," she said. I heard her murmur something too fast for me to catch the words, and then her hand flashed up towards my chin.

I felt something slide up through the skin under my jaw, through my sinus passage, and into my brain. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt at all in the handful of moments before everything went dark and still.

Still.

Still.

-x-X-x-

I took a shuddering breath, filling my lungs as deep as they would go, and opened my eyes on the world. I was in my bed, it was an hour before dawn, and it was the morning of my first day at North High again.

I didn't move, except to breathe. I did a lot of that, able to think of nothing more than drawing and expelling breath, able to sense nothing more than the most basic sensations of being alive, the air moving in and out, the heart beating in my chest, my eyelids blinking much more often than they should have.

 _Alive, alive, alive._ I didn't add the words I am until long after the sun came up.

When my mother came into my room to ask why I wasn't getting ready to leave for school, I didn't answer. I don't think I even really heard the words. At some point she stuck a thermometer in my mouth, checked the temperature, and then went to call a doctor. The doctor examined me, pronounced it a case of severe shock, and told my family to keep me in bed until I came out of it by myself, and to call an ambulance if I began having tremors or seizures.

A bit later we heard that the first day of classes had been unexpectedly cancelled due to a major gas leak at North High. Those students who had gone had been sent home again just before the first bell was to have rung. Not that I cared at the time; I only found out that afternoon, when I calmed down enough to become aware of other sensations of life that demanded I get out of bed and take care of their demands.

By dinner that night I was able to explain my condition to my family. I'd had a dream, I said, a dream that I had died. I'd felt the knife go in. I'd felt everything go dark. I'd felt myself cease to exist. It had been so real, so horrifying, that I had snapped awake too terrified to scream, to do anything except lie there and not be dead. This satisfied my parents, who were glad that it hadn't been anything more serious and that I would go to school the next morning for the rescheduled start of classes.

Of course my little sister asked what being dead was like. Oh, you annoying little terror, I hope you never find out. Live forever. I certainly want to, now.

The next morning I woke up to find three messages on my cell phone.

 **YUKI.N] Meet me in the clubroom at lunch**

 **YUKI.N] sorry**

 **YUKI.N] help me**

When it came time to introduce ourselves on that postponed first day I didn't use my clever little pre-emption of Haruhi's introduction speech. Neither did she, strangely. "I have no interest in ordinary humans," she said, and then she went off her script. "If I'm interested in you, it means that you're not ordinary. I won't rest until I find truly extraordinary people. That is all!"

I gave maybe a moment's thought to that change- was this going to be a more positive Haruhi? Was this Haruhi going to think of people other than herself for a change? Probably not, I thought, and turned my mind back to Nagato's messages, those entirely out of character messages for her.

 _Help me._

I tried to remember when Nagato had ever asked anything of me. I could remember only one thing offhand- when she'd asked me not to speak to a past version of herself, when we traveled back in time with Asahina to prevent my premature demise. (I need to thank both her and Asahina more thoroughly when that time comes again. I didn't appreciate enough how wonderful it is to not die before now.)

Never, ever that I could think of had Nagato ever asked me for help. For that matter, I couldn't think of much of anything which I, an ordinary human, could have helped a super-powerful alien with. Well, there was that time I had helped her apply for a library card, but she hadn't asked me at the time. She hadn't even understood the concept.

And I couldn't remember that many times when Nagato had apologized to me, and never so bluntly as this.

Something was very, very wrong. Had something carried over from before? Was Nagato inviting me to the clubhouse to kill me again? Maybe she'd got it wrong the first time?

No. A Nagato looking to kill me might just possibly apologize in advance, but she would never ask for help doing it.

My mind was so wrapped up in the problem that I didn't catch a single thing that happened between our homeroom introductions and the lunch bell. As soon as the bell sounded I was out of my chair and off to the old school building, across the walkway and up the stairs to that oh so familiar room.

And there Nagato sat, a closed book on her lap, without her glasses.

The book, I noticed, was titled _The Man Who Folded Himself_ , by someone with the strange name of David Gerrold.

"You came," Nagato whispered.

I looked at her hands, They lay side by side on top of the book as it lay on her lap, rubbing up and down slowly along its cover. This was Nagato having an emotional fit of astonishing proportions. That one little fidget for Nagato was the equivalent of a crying, screaming tantrum in a normal human being. The sight of that gentle, desperate stroking of the book sent me rushing across the room to her in an instant.

"I got your message," I said. "What's wrong?"

Nagato's whisper was slower, more carefully pronounced, than usual- another sign of intense turmoil. "This unit... I have memories which do not belong to this time and place," she said. "I remember a period of five hundred and eight days plus a temporal recursion loop of approximately fifteen thousand times two weeks' duration. None of these events has yet occurred. Aside from one incident approximately three years ago, no synchronization with instances of this unit in alternate temporal locations has occurred. The Data Overmind cannot determine the origin of these memories."

I put a hand on one of Nagato's to stop it moving. "I understand," I said, and for once I meant it. What had been happening to me had apparently happened to her. I was no longer alone... and she needed reassurance that she wasn't alone, either.

This was Yuki as I'd grown to know her, as she had grown through two years plus that endless summer of watching Haruhi Suzumiya. This was no longer the blank slate I'd been getting used to after several repetitions.

"There is more," she said. "I remember another set of events, approximately six weeks in duration. They culminated in the decision by the Data Overmind to end your life." I could feel Nagato's hands trying to move under my own. "I made the decision to execute the plan myself to reduce your suffering. I..." Slowly, like the side of a mountain denying the valley below, she shook her head. "I should not have made that decision. I should have defended you. I do not understand why I did not. I do not understand why I should not. I do not understand." She looked up at me, with those eyes which had been emotionless for so long, now openly frightened and held in check only because their owner didn't know what frightened eyes were supposed to do. "Help me."

Help you? I want to help you, Nagato. If I thought it would help I'd go to Suzumiya right now and say something like, "John Smith says that Ryouko Asakura needs a one-way plane ticket to Canada right now." But I don't know why things like this are happening. I don't know why you remember what happened the last time around when you've never remembered anything before. I don't know why you remember the way things were the first time, either.

I'm just an ordinary human who got sucked up in the lives of extraordinary beings, who for some reason gets to relive it over and over. I don't know how or why. I just know that it's happening whether or not I like it. And now that I know there's someone with me who understands. I like it a bit more.

"What happened after I died?" I asked her.

Yuki's hands stopped moving. "One hundred ninety-three seconds after your life signs ceased, the universe came to an end," she said quietly. "The Data Overmind does not believe that this was caused by Suzumiya, though the possibility exists." After a pause, she continued, "I became aware of these memories at 4:38 AM yesterday morning. This unit experienced a quantum elevation in awareness. A close analogy might be that prior to that time I was dreaming, and after that time I am awake."

"In the future, you'll let me know when you're Awake, I hope."

"Yes." The hands began moving. "The Data Overmind is assimilating the data from my new memories. I have told it that if the decision is made again to terminate your life I will not cooperate."

Good. I don't mean to be selfish, but I'm for anything which ends in me not dying.

"You remember what I said that time just before Christmas."

"Yes."

"Tell your boss that still applies. Haruhi Suzumiya didn't just choose me. She chose the entire SOS Brigade, including Yuki Nagato. She didn't choose Eimi Kimidori or Ryouko Asakura. And I'm going to make sure she keeps choosing you. If the Overmind tries to take that choice away, I'll make as much trouble as Haruhi's power will let me. Tell them that."

"I will," Yuki said. "Thank you."

"And remember," I said, giving Yuki's hand a final squeeze before letting it go, "I'm here. If you need to talk to somebody, or if you just need someone to be around, let me know. But for now," I said, heading for the door, "I need to get to work making sure Haruhi makes the right choices."

That turned out to be a difficult Loop. I had to build the SOS Brigade myself, while trying to present it as if the whole thing had been Haruhi's idea in the first place. I had to keep Haruhi from becoming bored or frustrated, not so much for her sake or for the world's as to make it plain to the Data Overmind that Yuki was absolutely, totally indispensable.

Of course I had help, but let's not get too far ahead. Nobody likes to think their hard work was pointless in the end, much less admit it to others.

For now all I'll say is, that Loop ran along to the end with Ryouko never so much as poking a push-pin in my direction, with the world only endangered when Yuki was, and with the other factions convinced that Yuki was just as indispensable as I was in keeping Haruhi Suzumiya happy and stable.

(I even managed to convince Haruhi to change her movie script to _The Mysterious Adventures of Nagato Yuki Episode 00_. I think the result was a much better film, but unfortunately no copy survived the end of that Loop, so you can't see for yourself.)

The next few loops were relaxing again, and both Yuki and I stopped worrying about the Data Overmind... until the Loop when Ryouko Asakura killed me again.

* * *

3.1 - An apple a day keeps the Monstrels away.

3.2 - Ah, the bonds of sisterhood.

3.3 - Femininity through superior tactical warfare.

3.4 - Way better than that _other_ vampire fairy. *cough*Twilight*cough*

3.5 - You should be careful when you're drilling holes in the Universe. You might not like what's on the other side.

3.6 - Jackbots, retreat!

3.7 - Eternal Girl, meet eternal time loops.

3.8 - Like the Endless Eight, only better. Hopefully.


	4. Chapter 4

4.1 - (jxz)

[Selector Infected WIXOSS]

Hanayo looked at her Selector with sadness. She honestly thought that she could have her wish come true...

If she only knew...

For now, she focused in the battle against that Selector and her white-haired LRIG, who...

Were both wearing glasses and holding notes?

Then she heard sobbing... Comming from her Selector?

"A-And then, I started f-feeling these feelings a-about my brother..." Yuzuki said between sobs, as the two girls wrote something down.

"Tama sees..." The LRIG said. "And, when did you start feeling that those feelingss were bad?"

"It... It all started with elementary..."

Hanayo continued staring at the event, not understanding what was happening.

Meanwhile, in other part of the Battlefield...

"A-and that was w-when Iona took my plaaaace..." Akira said, while hugging Piruruk, who was also crying.

Ulith was so confused and annoyed with what Kuro was doing, even more so when she requested to be called Yuki. She honestly wished that Mayu interrupted this and punished both Selectors for not fighting...

... Although, considering the fact that she was seeing popcorn in some places meant that it wasn't a possibility.

* * *

4.2 - (neubattles)

[Cardcaptor Sakura]

Sakura sometimes got really bored with the resets.

It wasn't that it wasn't incredible to be this powerful. It wasn't even that she found her friends uninteresting, because how could she ever stop realizing how wonderful they are? No, it was the monotony. The routine. It was always the same for her, outside of a few hobbies she decided to learn when she realized it wasn't going to stop changing. Find the book, release the Cards somehow, meet Kero, collect the Cards, meet Syaoran and Meiling, beat Yue, meet Eriol, transform Cards, beat Eriol. It was tedious when the only people that immediately believed her were the Cards, especially Time and Mirror. But now, for the first time, she wasn't the Cardcaptor this time. Tomoyo was. Her friend, having short hair for once, was honestly as strange as any other Tomoyo, if more exuberant. It was honestly really fun acting like Tomoyo usually did, Sakura thought. She could do without the hair though. It was so long and hard to brush and tie up, not to mention it got everywhere!

"Sakura, these dresses are so lovely! Ah, I wish you had worn these yourself, instead of making them for me. You'd look so wonderful..." Tomoyo sighed happily at the thought, while Sakura laughed nervously. What was up with Tomoyo and seeing Sakura in these outfits? At least it was a Looping constant, like Kero's weird face. She had been ever so excited when Sakura had asked to learn to make dresses, the past few Loops, but then, she was excited to do anything with Sakura. Her payment was, of course, modeling more clothes and spending time with her. What a weird girl.

"If you don't want to wear it, you don't have to, Tomoyo," Sakura said, smiling at her long time best friend. This time, the Through was active and tricking people into thinking it was a ghost, moving objects through walls and ceilings and floors.

"Of course, I'll wear it! I love everything you give me, Sakura!" Tomoyo smiled so brightly that, honestly, the time traveler thought she was using LIGHT right then. The girl never changed, and despite the monotony, Sakura couldn't help but love the steadfast reliability.

"Let's go then! We need to beat Li, right? You're the Cardcaptor, after all!" Sakura grinned cheerfully, shooing the now-magical lady to the changing area. What a really fun reset!

* * *

4.3 - (farsan)

[Gurren Lagann]

It is... rare that someone finds its way here.

It doesn't matter. As long as you are here, I have an important message to relay. Please listen to it with all your heart.

You want first to know who I am, and what am I doing here?

Fair enough. We have time. If that will make you take the message seriously, then I have no choice but to agree.

Yes, I am already aware that you can detect lies in this realm. Don't worry, every part of this story is the complete truth.

My name is Nia Teppelin.

In my home Loop, I was the daughter of Lord Genome. A dutiful daughter, and a simple doll. I knew nothing about the outside world, nothing about the humans what were suffering under the surface, nothing about the Anti Spirals that had beaten the humans into submission, and made their leader its own watchdog.

I knew nothing, until everything changed.

A Gunmen, smaller than any other Gunmen I had ever seen before, suddenly appeared before me. From it, a strange boy appeared, and started talking to me about things I couldn't understand, about an evil curse that was eating him from inside.

I knew nothing, but something inside me knew.

I was a simple doll. I knew nothing about hope, I knew nothing about fear, I knew nothing about love. I knew nothing about the fighting spirit which lies within all the bearers of the Double Helix. Not then. And because that, my transition into an Anti Spiral was very easy for me. I immediately accepted my new nature, and my new duty.

And I knew what had to be done.

Before my beastmen guardians could reach us, I teleported Simon, Lagann and myself to the Anti Spiral dimension, and drove them both into the Sea of Despair, just as he asked me.

I created a bubble of air, reduced the perceived gravity, and granted him a normal environment: A home, normal food, and my own presence to give him somebody to talk to. This was done for two reasons: To slow his emission of corrupted Spiral energy, ensuring that we would be able to handle this new strain without risks, and to learn through him the source of the Spiral infection.

At first, he alternated random bursts of insanity (Nothing we couldn't handle), accusations of us creating the Spiral infection to corrupt all the Spiral lifeforms (As if!) and long, silent periods of depression (Which was a sign of progress, but it didn't answer our questions).

When I finally hammered through his stubborn mind that we had nothing to do with the Spiral Curse, and that he was not within our Labyrinth (We checked twice) he finally started talking about his experiences.

And that was something that not even my new me knew anything about.

To learn about the Loops, even when Simon didn't actually know what was going on, was very conflicting to us. On one hand, we were glad that the universe had safeguards against the Spiral Nemesis, and that it actually survived such an event. On the other hand, that made our sacrifice, and the sacrifice of the rest of the Spiral races, worthless.

Still, there were things we could still do as Anti Spiral. First, we had to locate and neutralize the source of the Spiral corruption, which we now had proof could infect other universes. Also, we could recognize within the Loops a classic Spiral pattern, and that had to be investigated to learn if it could generate a Meta Spiral Nemesis that could destroy the Multiverse.

But we couldn't do anything of those if we were 'outside the Loop', so to speak.

When Simon's Spiral Energy was almost drained, and he was about to die, Anti Spiral placed me within Simon's spirit with three missions.

The first, and most immediate, was to ensure that the Spiral infection was kept in an embryonic state, and to protect him in case he contacted a bearer of the Curse again.

The second, to learn more about the Multiverse, and the Spiral Energy created by the Looping process. So far, I am glad to say that the Multiverse, with the current guardians and safeguards, is very stable, and holds little risk of Spiral collapse. Even in the case that an individual gathers enough power to transcend, causing a local Collapse, the rest of the Multiverse is cut off from the worst effects. Still, Anti Spiral will do its best to drain any powerful individual that visits our home Loop, to reduce the risks of a local collapse.

The third is to relay the message I am about to tell, hoping it will reach its destination.

 _ **"To the bearer of the Curse of the Spiral, doomed to repeat its fate:**_

 _ **Hear these words, and heed them. Because even if we hold Despair as our flag, this is a message of Hope.**_

 _ **We are Aware of your plight. We have encountered the Curse, and we have managed to defeat it. But we are not able to fight the infection directly at the source.**_

 _ **So I have this message for you:**_

 _ **Find the world of the Spiral of Light, of the Spiral of Hope!**_

 _ **When you find it, use your Spirit, even if it is corrupted, to fight the bearers of Despair! Because only then we will be able to find you.**_

 _ **And when you are finally defeated (And we will, because our Messenger has prepared for this moment, and those preparations will let us know how to defeat you), Let us Heal you! Accept Us as part of you, as we will accept you as part of us! Become our Avatar in the Multiverse! Because only then you will have the tools to fight the Curse, and Win.**_

 _ **So Find us, Fight us, Embrace our Nature, and Accept our Duty! Let the Curse itself learn the true meaning of Despair!**_

 _ **For we are the Anti Spirals. Our Nature is to Endure, and our Duty is to Protect.**_

 _ **And even if we use Despair as a weapon, we are allowed to have Hope."**_

-x-X-x-

My duty is over for now, but I have one final request.

Please, don't tell Simon that I am inside of his mind.

I... I strongly suspect that I am the reason Nia is not Awake after all these Loops. Because I am also Nia, and I am Awake. And there can't be two versions of Nia in the same universe.

If he learned that his love will never be Awake... it would crush his spirit again. Before, when I was first activated, I would have revered in his Despair... But I don't want that. Not anymore. Not after I had seen what he had to endure, what he had to protect, what he had to sacrifice.

So, please, don't tell him. Not for my sake, but for his.

Why are you smiling like that?

What do you know that I don't?

...

Thank you. I am glad that I was wrong about that. Still, I'd like to wait until she Awakens to reveal myself. Will you grant me this selfish wish?

Thank you again. You gave me hope... Luna.

* * *

4.4

[Rosario+Vampire/Naruto]

Moka gave a wordless cry of rage as she charged furiously... into a classroom? Wait, what? Having lost her momentum due to her confusion, Moka stumbled and barely managed to keep herself from falling to the ground.

"Ha, looks like I win! The seat next to Sasuke is mine!"

Looking up to the source of the voice, Moka saw a young blonde girl in a purple outfit triumphantly taking a seat next to the boy she assumed to be Sasuke. No, wait... that was definitely Sasuke. She remembered clearly having been racing the girl, Ino her memories told her, to get the seat next to the stoic boy. Why did she want that again?

Staring confusedly at the raven haired boy, who raised an eyebrow questioningly, Moka found she couldn't give an answer to that. While she supposed he was cute enough for his age, he just didn't seem to be her type. Not like Tsukune at all... Wait Tsukune!

"Where am I, WHERE'S TSUKUNE?"

Most of the class pulled back in surprise at her enraged shout, the fact that she was also generating an aura of blood-lust not helping her case. From the back a blonde boy gave a sigh and stood from his seat next to a girl with pale eyes, who gave him an encouraging smile that he returned.

The next thing Moka knew the boy had jumped down from the top row of seats and dragged her from the class, her efforts to beat the blonde proving surprisingly ineffective. Behind them the class began muttering.

"What's up with her?" Ino asked the question which the rest of the class was thinking. Shrugging it off, she focused on what truly mattered. Winning her love and beating back her rivals once and for all. "Oh Sasuke, you know I'd never go crazy like Moka."

For his part, Sasuke did his best to ignore the Unawake girl next to him. It was going to be a long Loop.

-x-X-x-

Once outside the classroom Moka's captor pulled out a small three bladed knife of some kind, the base of which was wrapped in what looked like the talismans Yukari and the Huangs used for their summoning. Simultaneously her memories supplied her with a second reference of her having seen similar seals in the Academy's textbooks.

Busy trying to understand how she could have a second set of memories completely different from her normal ones, she almost missed as the boy placed his hands into a strange configuration; hand-seals her mind told her; and in a burst of smoke two identical copies of the boy appeared. One then performed another seal and became an exact copy of her!

"Wha—"

Without missing a beat her copy then proceeded to place herself in front of the boys copy which generated a sheild of some kind of prismatic light around itself and nodded. Returning the nod, her duplicate gave a roar and punched him through the door; back into the classroom. Before she could even try to understand what was going on the world lit up in a flash of yellow light, causing her to shut her eyes tightly as her stomach gave a lurch. When it cleared she found herself in the middle of a forest next to a waterfall. Instinctively she backed away from the water and rose to her feet.

Enough was enough! She didn't know what was going on, but she refused to keep being thrown around randomly. She may not have been as powerful as Inner but she was still a proud Vampire.

"Who are you? Where am I?"

The boy gave a sigh and, seemingly unaffected by her youki spiraling around her, sat on the ground and folded his arms. "Alright, I'm guessing this is your first Fused Loop?"

Moka blinked confusedly, but otherwise remained in her stance. The boy nodded in a sage-like manner.

"Right! Usually it's Harry's job to give the Speech, but looks like its up to us this time." he said with a grin. "Okay, so it's like this..."

-x-X-x-

Walking back into the classroom in a daze Moka considered the recent revelations. It made a certain amount of sense she supposed, at least more than any of Yukari's theories, but even still the enormity of the truth of the constant time loop was a bit much for her.

Inside the room the dark haired boy, Sasuke, sat playing a game of what looked like poker with the two duplicates from before. Shadow Clones she reminded herself. Behind her the original, Naruto, joined her; immediately taking up one of the spare seats and dealing himself in.

"Okay, we're all caught up. Moka is a Vampire from a world where Youkai are hiding from humans and she goes to some school to teach her to fit in. Moka this is Sasuke, he's an emo jerk recovering from a severe case of stick up the ass."

Sasuke glowered and the blonde boy abruptly burst into black flames before exploding into a cloud of smoke which cleared to reveal a burning log dressed as a poor imitation of him. "Hey bastard, not cool." Naruto's voice spoke from behind Moka, causing her to jump. How had he gotten there?

"Hn. Just shut up and finish playing. Winner decides how we deal with Kakashi's tardiness this Loop."

Naruto grinned wickedly and rubbed his hands together before taking his seat back from the now nothing but ash log. Moka watched this all in stunned silence. The casual murder attempt was particularly worrying, and Naruto's indifference only made the entire situation more surreal. She wasn't sure if they were legitimately this insane, or only putting on an act to help her deal with the knowledge that all of reality was broken.

Taking a seat she stared down at the book Naruto had given her, one which supposedly would explain in greater detail exactly what was going on and what she could expect. Looking up at the table, where Naruto and Sasuke were staring intently at their cards, Moka couldn't help herself.

"Um, excuse me... What am I supposed to be doing?"

Naruto looked up from his hand with a reassuring grin. "Don't worry, once I finish kicking Sasuke's ass we'll teach you how to make a Pocket and other fun stuff." Abruptly he turned back to his opponent with a glare. "Hey, no Sharingan! That's cheating!"

Sasuke scoffed. "As if I'd have any chance against your ridiculous luck at cards otherwise. You and I both know firsthand your poker face can outmatch the Borg. Deal with it." Turning to her, Moka internally flinched at the abnormal pattern covering his eyes.

"As for you, since you're Replacing our normal teammate I assume you're probably dealing with her Loop-start problems. With the size and control of her Chakra reserves she ended up as a med-nin. If you want we can get you started on that. She may be crazy, but Sakura is still a good teacher. I have a few of her books you can take a look at later. For now you're best option is to start studying the manual. Believe me, you're lucky to have one."

Moka nodded slowly, a flash of pain striking her heart as she recalled Tsukune's death. Yes, that sounded like a good idea. If being a medic could prevent anything like that from happening ever again, then that was what she would do.

With new resolve she opened the book in her hands and began reading.

-x-X-x-

Kakashi wasn't sure what to think as he observed his newest students. One was the last loyal Uchiha, currently sulking in a hammock hanging comfortably above the teacher's desk and playing a harmonica. The other was the container of the Nine-tailed Fox which had nearly destroyed the village several years ago, who at the moment was wearing a welding mask as he worked on a something that might loosely be considered abstract art in the shape of a trophy surrounding a pack of cards.

The only normal member of the trio was currently perched at her desk reading a book which even to his Sharingan appeared completely blank, while ignoring the other two. He resolved to have a word or two with the Academy profilers. Clearly they had missed quite a few details in their reports.

-x-X-x-

While Moka was not normally an easy to anger person, and while she appreciated the time to familiarize herself with her two newest abilities and begin studying the book Naruto had given her, she was more than willing to admit that three and a half hours was an unacceptable length of time for their instructor to make them wait.

As such she was rather curious about the method Naruto had decided to use to deal with their negligent Sensei following his, rather thorough, defeat of Sasuke. (Three Royal Flushes and a Full House back to back!) Hearing the sound of the door opening, she quietly closed her book and turned to face the person who was supposed to be teaching her for the next several years.

He appeared to be a man in his late twenties to early thirties with silver-grey hair and a face mask. Extending her senses she was pleasantly surprised to find that he had a strong aura of latent power. While no match for her Father, he was certainly acceptable as a teacher. However the issue of his tardiness had mostly pushed that thought to the back of her mind.

Getting up from her desk, she turned to face him. "Hello Kakashi-Sensei, Its nice to meet you. My name is Moka Haruno."

After so long repeating time with the others her personality and Inner's had slowly begun to bleed into one another. While Inner had developed the ability to express herself in a gentler manner; especially towards their loves and most especially towards Tsukune; she had gained the ability to fully channel her pride as a Vampire and to demonstrate her displeasure as befitting a S-Class Monster whenever she felt the situation called for it.

Thus while she had outwardly kept up a polite and respectful demeanor during her introduction, at the same time she had released the full extent of her Youkai Aura. One which, as a Vampire, literally screamed of the desire for blood.

Kakashi blinked. In his time as a Shinobi he had felt some truly monstrous Killing Intents on the battlefield. While this girl's was impressive – very, very impressive – it paled in comparison to the true monsters he had felt over the years.

However combined with her youthful appearance, genuinely friendly smile and the fact that he had been utterly unprepared to face this level of blood-lust in an Academy classroom, he was left momentarily speechless.

"As our Sensei it is up to you to demonstrate proper behavior. Leaving us to wait for so long was mean and unprofessional. Please don't do it again." Moka continued with a gentle smile, even as she focused the absolute extent of her Youki against the Jounin. The full might of which she had used to defeat her sisters Kahlua and Akua on numerous occasions.

Kakashi was briefly reminded of the few times he had ever seen his Sensei's wife truly angry. It... rarely ended well for anyone on the receiving end. While outwardly he managed to maintain his calm, inwardly he was rather disturbed. The only other people he had ever felt demonstrating this level of Killing Intent were on the other side of the battlefield. That this barely even Genin Kunoichi could unleash such a potent aura over something so simple as a couple hour wait didn't bode well for the future.

He idly made a mental note to be slightly earlier in the future should this team pass, unlikely though it might be. Thirty minutes should be enough.

"My first impression of you all, less than I expected. Meet me on the roof."

Naruto jumped up from his 'sculpture' with an enthusiastic grin. "Yosh! Lead on Sensei, let us work together to unleash the glorious flames of Youth together!"

Kakashi's visible eye widened in disbelief, before developing a small twitch.

"Hn. If we can't gain your approval by the end of the day, we'll climb the Hokage mountain with our arms tied behind our backs." This, said in a dull monotone, was accompanied by Sasuke's joining Naruto in front of Kakashi; who's twitch was now rather more pronounced.

"Come my Eternal Rival, I will race you to the roof. If I cannot beat you I will go one full week without my Youthful Ramen!" Naruto punctuated this with a tooth filled grin and a thumbs up. Moka was caught by surprise when abruptly the area behind Naruto was filled with the sight of a twilit beach.

She was even more surprised by the sudden appearance of a full harvest moon over the desert from behind Sasuke as he nodded agreement. "If I cannot defeat you I will go one month without my Youthful Tomatoes."

As if a switch had been flipped, suddenly there was a tension in the air as the two stared each other down. In the background the two illusory scenes began to push against one another, as if trying to overpower the other. Without another word, the two dashed out of the classroom leaving Moka and an irregularly breathing Kakashi alone.

Moka gave her future instructor a pleasant smile, the air visibly distorting from the malevolent aura surrounding her. "We should hurry Sensei, it's impolite to be late."

With that she moved past the twitching Jounin and made her way after her teammates, leaving Kakashi staring with unseeing eyes into the now empty classroom.

-x-X-x-

A short time later the four Shinobi had gathered onto the Academy rooftop, Kakashi sitting upon the rails with an orange covered book in his hand as he discretely observed his would-be team.

Upon his arrival he had been caught off guard to see Naruto had somehow dragged his metal abomination onto the roof with him and had added a second layer of what looked like two vaguely human figures in mid-stride. The one in the lead appeared to be eating from a cup of noodles.

As for Sasuke, he had been crouched in the corner rocking back and forth with his arms around his legs and a literal storm cloud floating over his head as he glared viciously at a nearby trail of ants. Kakashi wasn't sure how that was even possible, and considering the cloud kept unleashing random strikes of lightning against said ants he wasn't going to be asking any time soon.

Again the only seemingly normal member of the trio was Moka, who had turned attentively to face him moments before he had body flickered to his current perch. However the fact that her hair seemed to be rising slightly into the air, much like a certain red-headed Kunoichi he had once known, belied the apparent normality of the pinkette.

Having learned all he could from just watching, he gave an exasperated sigh and snapped his book shut.

"Alright. Why don't we get started by tell each other about ourselves. You know, the usual. Likes, dislikes, dreams for the future. Why don't you go first blondie?"

Naruto stood with a flourish and snapped a sharp salute. "Yosh. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like Ramen, training, seeing new things that I haven't seen before and Hinata-chan who I will one day marry and have two perfect angels with!"

Sasuke snorted. "Still not over the new expansion yet dobe?"

Naruto glared. "Oh, like you aren't spending every spare second planning how to spoil you're future kid."

Sasuke turned away with a huff.

Moka had to giggle. This boy wasn't anything like her memories told her he was. Which was good, because she remembered him being far too much like Kuyou for her taste.

Moka's smile died down as she recalled the Kitsune who had killed her love. Naruto noticed this and continued.

"Things I dislike are a certain plant faced bastard and his rabbit goddess mistress, nightmares of Sakura's experiments, dying and the three minutes it takes for Ramen to cook. My dreams for the future are to kick a god-tree in the ass so hard it makes the moon hurt, bring peace to the Elemental Nations, and to become the Seventh Hokage. And then to marry Hinata and have two of the best kids to ever exist, ever!"

Kakashi blinked. _'Well that was... enlightening? Sort of.'_

"Right, your turn then." he said, pointing to Sasuke.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I like tomatoes. Which I cannot have for the next month because somebody decided to cheat by using the Speed Force."

Naruto stuck his tongue out at Sasuke's glare. "Cry me a river Mr. Flash Step."

Sasuke's glare increase, before turned away and continued.

"Like Naruto I also like training, learning to combine my abilities, and discovering new things. I also like cooking and working on machines. Things I dislike include a particular white rat, fangirls – especially yaoi fangirls, and Abridged Variants."

Naruto grinned. "All praise the Log, he who sacrifices himself that we may live."

Sasuke groaned and held his face in his hands. "I hate you. I really, really do. As for my dreams for the future I intend to skin a snake, talk to a weasel, not become a vagabond and... I guess open a restaurant or something."

Kakashi had to ask. "A restaurant?"

"Eh, why not. Either that or a Go Salon. Shikamaru would probably like that."

"I... see." He didn't. He truly didn't.

"Okay, well then. Last up..."

Moka nodded. "My name is Moka Aka-um, Haruno. I like... my friends. Kurumu, Mizore, Yukari, Ruby, Keito... Tsukune."

Naruto and Sasuke shared a look as Moka spoke, her words growing softer with every word. Naruto nodded and pulled out a small piece of paper which he quickly wrote a small seal onto before crumbling it up and rolling it towards Kakashi, who didn't notice due to his curiosity over Moka's behavior; as well confidence that the three were no threat.

This was quickly disproved as the wad of paper burst into a small flash and abruptly the entire world went still. Naruto got up from where he was seated and approached the pink haired vampire. "Moka? Are you alright?"

Moka didn't answer verbally, instead releasing a shuddering sob. Naruto sighed and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Okay, I know this is all a little overwhelming but really its not that bad. I mean, yeah it can get a little boring, but still."

Moka only wept harder, hunching over as she cried.

"Hey, hey, hey. Really, its not a problem. You'll get used to it after a couple hundred years. Honest."

Moka gave a choked laugh. "I've been 'looping' for several thousand years already. How can I get used to this? One minute I'm watching the man I love have his heart torn out of his body, and feeling like mine went with it, and then suddenly I'm here. I don't know where this is, or what's happened to Tsukune and everyone else and you keep telling me it's okay. How can this be okay?!"

Naruto stared with wide eyes at Moka's outburst, before sharing a glance with an equally surprised Sasuke. "Wait, I thought you said this was your first Fused Loop. If you've been Looping for so long, shouldn't you have had one before this? How long has time been repeating for you?"

Moka gave a pitiful shrug. "We've lost count. Somewhere around ten thousand I think."

"That would explain it." Sasuke said, running his hand through his hair. "That was about the time of The Crash wasn't it."

Naruto nodded with a look of understanding, smacking his fist into his other hand. "You're right. So if her Loop was activated during the Crash, then that would mean that something got screwed up with it."

Sasuke nodded. "Which means that she's been Looping with no idea why, and no one to rely on but her friends and lover. Who she just watched get brutally murdered for what I'm assuming is probably the first time."

This caught Moka's attention, as she turned horror-struck eyes to the two ancient beings in youthful form. "F-first?"

"Uh h-heh. Yeah, I guess I kinda forgot to mention that huh? When a Looper dies, they just get reset. They'll show up in another Loop later. It's no big deal."

Moka stared blankly for several seconds as she processed this. Then abruptly, her aura flared so brightly that the nearby bench began to smoke. "No big deal. No big deal! I thought Tsukune was _gone_ and you say it's no big deal."

"Uhhh... sorry?"

One moment Moka had been staring far too calmly at her blonde teammate, the next she had reappeared in front of the empty space where Naruto had previously been standing. Previously, because he was currently mid-air following a perfectly executed high-kick. A severe beating soon followed, as Moka unleashed all of her sorrow turned anger onto her target; subconsciously channeling her other self's personality in the process.

With a final shot, Naruto impacted against the ground at high speed; leaving a sizable crater around the point his face met the tile. "Know your place."

Turning with a huff she took a seat and crossed her arms with a frown, before catching sight of Sasuke; who was prodding Naruto with a stick. Seeing her confusion, he smirked.

"I give it an eight out of ten. You lost a point for property damage."

Naruto pulled himself out of the rooftop with a glare. "Screw you Sasuke."

"Whatever dobe, just fix yourself up before your Time-space Seal runs out."

Naruto continued his glare for another moment before rolling his eyes, a visible arc of energy running over his body leaving unblemished skin and clothing in its wake. Pulling out a small wooden wand from apparently nowhere he gave a small flick, and the roof restored itself. Only once that was done did he turn back to Moka.

"Do you feel better now? I know how hard it can be to see someone you love get hurt."

Moka gaped in astonishment, before pointing accusingly at the blonde. "You! You... let me do that?!"

Naruto barked out a laugh and nodded.

"But, why?"

Sitting next to her, Naruto gave her a sad smile. "I guess I just forgot how bad it can be at first, you know? Me and Sasuke, we're one of the first. We've been doing this so long, there isn't even a number for how many years it's been since we first started. It just – stops being important after awhile.

"But you? You've only just begun, you're still just a new kid taking their first steps out of the house."

He pulled out a small picture from his Pocket and looked at it with a small smile. "You know, not long ago our Loop got its first expansion in practically forever. I finally got to live to see my future. And in that future I have two kids, a boy and a girl. Boruto and Himawari.

"I just want to protect them you know. Watching them grow up and see the world, its like I'm seeing it all again for the first time. And it's beautiful."

He gave Moka a grin. "I know it doesn't seem like it right now, but I promise it'll get better. This Tsukune guy may not be here, but wherever he is he's fine. I'm sure of it. In no time at all you'll be back with him and all your other friends, and this will be just the first of many adventures you'll all take together."

Moka had no words. She had just attacked this boy, no this man, viciously; and here he was being so nice to her. It was too much. Grabbing the front of Naruto's jacket she buried her head in it and allowed herself to let out all of the pain she had been forcing herself to ignore since the first moment she found herself in this strange, new world.

-x-X-x-

Kakashi gave a start as he looked around in surprise. He thought he just felt a flash of Chakra, but several seconds of intense search revealed nothing out of order that he could see. Everything was as it had been before whatever he though he had felt, his potential students still seated in front of him as Moka gave her introduction. Maybe he was just imagining it.

Although, he could have sworn that Naruto's 'art project' had been a lot larger a moment ago. And that there had been two humanoid figures on it. Neither of which had been feminine. And that it had been on the other side of the roof, rather than in Moka's lap.

...On second thought, maybe he should think about having a 'talk' with Inoichi.

Moka pulled herself straighter as Kakashi stopped glancing around suspiciously, and continued where she had left off. "Things I dislike are bullies who hurt those close to me. My dreams for the future are to become the best medical ninja I can so that I can protect those I care about, and to try and look forward to the things to come; no matter how strange or frightening they may be."

Kakashi looked with surprise at the pinkette, who returned his gaze evenly. Perhaps there was hope for this team after all.

* * *

4.5 – (Dalxein)

[Kill la Kill/My Little Pony]

Ryuko Woke Up, as she usually did, having just fallen down the trapdoor in her old house to the basement full of dust and clothes and bits of research equipment. After digging around a bit to find Senketsu and confirming he was Awake, her cell phone started chirping.

"Yah?" She snipped into the thing. It was always... interesting... when Satsuki called her before they were ever supposed to have 'met'. "What do you mean I need to get to your place ASAP? What's wrong? Satsuki? Oi, Kiryuin!?" She hated it when people hung up on her, but that was fine. She'd get to the Kiryuin mansion and yell at her there.

Pulling out a grappling hook from that one Loop she spent as Batgirl, She shot up and smashed her way through the closed trap door. Her last angry thought as she mounted her bike right out of her Pocket before she ever hit the ground was that someone better have a good reason for this.

-x-X-x-

Hours of driving had given her a chance to think, so she wasn't entirely surprised when Satsuki met her in the foyer of the Kiryuin Mansion with an unfamiliar woman she suspected was replacing Ragyo this Loop.

"I'm still having trouble believing it- living clothes! Oh my but that is just fabulous!" The lavender-haired woman gushed to a grouchy Satsuki. Ryuko laughing at the girl's plight brought the woman's attention to her. "Oh my, but you must be the Anchor, yes? My name is Rarity."

"Yeah... I'm Ryuko Matoi." She answered, hesitantly. A Looper replacing Ragyo. That was just asking for trouble. "Just so you know, you're kinda' replacing the big baddie around here. We're not going to have to stab you lots, are we?"

"Oh my no, dear." The woman seemed a tad affronted. "As long as I get a chance to examine these life fibers, I'll be more than happy to do what I can to make this into a nice Vacation Loop for everyone."

This had eyebrows twitching upward. "The First Life Fiber isn't going to be a problem?"

"Not at all, dear. He rather agreed that the Baseline plot was rather silly, all things considered. Honestly, destroying the world by eating everyone... that's just not sustainable at all. Making clothes that kill their wearer is incredibly distasteful as well." She huffed.

And now the locals were panicking."Someone Looped in as the First Life Fiber!?" Ryuko yelled over Satsuki's glaring expletives.

"Gotta admit..." The room was stunned silent again as they noticed the male voice was coming from Rarity's dress. Her rather form-fitting purple and green dress. "At first I thought this Loop was really going to suck. But then it got better." No one missed his cheerful tone at the end.

"This is my husband, Spike." Rarity supplied.

* * *

4.6 – (jxz)

[Ojamajo Doremi]

"Yawn... again? I thought this time I would pass the 18 years..." Doremi Harukaze said. For a while, she had been returning to her past, to the time then she discovered the magic in first place, until she was going to be 18 years old. Rinse and repeat. She saw that she was the only one remembering; whenever she told her sister or friends of it, they just said it was a weird dream.

"Well, if it's going to repeat... I'll better make this good. And I have some ideas..."

"Mom! Doremi's talking alone!"

-x-X-x-

Doremi stood in front of the Maho-Dou. After that last Loop, she wanted to make this quick and use her magic to age to 16.

"Okay, here I go." she said, holding a thing she acquired in her last Loop: A smoke grenade. "I have to thank Randy for this..."

She reached the door.

SLAM!

"Whuha?!" The sound startled Majo Rika and Lala, who was sent into the air.

' _Now!'_ Doremi thought, launching the grenade to the front of both magical beings. the effect was fast. in few seconds, the entire store was covered in a pestilent smoke. A few seconds later and before Majo Rika dispelled the smoke with a wind, Doremi escaped the store, holding the three taps she and their friends had.

 _'And thanks Snake, for the Solid Eye.'_ she thought, putting both taps into her Subspace pocket. Now, how to give them to her friends and one to Onpu, that was another thing... and she berated herself for not thinking about it.

-x-X-x-

Aiko sighed. It was that time again. When she and the other Ojamajos went to Osaka to see her mom take care of that man. Even if she knew it was a misunderstanding, that image still wasn't pretty. Even after tens of Loops, it still hurt.

"Uh, Doremi?" she called her friend/Anchor.

"Yes? What's wrong?" Doremi said. She was polishing her pink Scissor Blade.

"Can we avoid the trip to Osaka? I just don't want to..."

"See your mom? I see," the pink Ojamajo said, "It still hurts?"

"Yeah. I mean, I know what it is, but yet... I can't feel pain when I see that." Aiko chuckled. "Heh. Funny, no?"

"Maybe. But I can relate," Doremi said, looking at the confused Osaka girl, "Every time we lose Hana, even if I know we will see her again in a few days, it feels... bad. And I have been in more Loops than you." Her grip in the sword/scissor loosened, but she regained it quickly. "But that's ok. That means you haven't suffered Sakura Syndrome, that you still feel something when the things happen. I can recall Lina and Ranma lost their feelings once, and it wasn't pretty."

She smiled, a creepy smile. "And, as long as you continue feeling something, you won't end in Eiken."

"... really?! That's the punishment?!" Aiko then took her Jewelry Tap from her Subspace Pocket and transformed. "Forget what I said! I'm ok with going to mom's! Please don't send me there!" she shouted, flying in Osaka's direction. Doremi just chuckled, and returned to polish her blade.

"Ok... next time, don't attack Majo Tourbillon when she's in her 'I-hate-humans' phase." Doremi said, stripping herself of the solid sap the old queen had thrown onto them.

"Agreed," all Ojamajos said.

"Dear Kami, it looks like she took a page of the CMC's book..." Onpu said.

-x-X-x-

"Good morning! The owner of this shop is a witch! Goodbye!"

Doremi closed the door as soon as she said that. She knew that was bad... but she couldn't help it; the way the witch flew across the room was too funny to let it pass.

-x-X-x-

Doremi and Onpu were outside of the Maho-Dou. With a bit of help from a teleporter taken from Engie's things back in a TF2 Loop, they were ready to make their plan. Also, Onpu was able to teleport back and forth from Doremi's house to wherever she would be.

"Ok, you distract her while I do that," Onpu whispered to Doremi.

"You know, I've been in weird Loops and have been part of weird plans. Heck, I even defeated Nightmare Moon with three tons of magical spheres and a caribou!" Doremi said, nervously. "But I don't think this is a good idea..."

"Don't worry, it will work out," Onpu said, "Now, give me the Goku 1-star uniform and we'll start."

"I still say a 3-Star would be a better thing to use," Doremi said, giving the clothes to the purple Ojamajo.

"Nah, this will do. Ready?"

"Yeah, let's do-" Doremi said, but when she turned around, Onpu had disappeared. "-it." She sighed. She had forgotten how fast someone could be in a Goku uniform.

"Well, let's do this."

"Welcome, welcome to my magic shop." Majo Rika said, her face covered with her hood.

"Uh... good afternoon... do you have..." Doremi thought it well. "Dream stones?"

"That depends. What kind of dream stones do you want?"

Doremi forgot how weirdly mysterious Majo Rika was when she wasn't a witch blob. "I want stones that grant my wishes, like magic." She noticed the muscles on the witch's hand tense. "Do you know if they exist?"

"W-Well, maybe, but I haven't heard-oh, right!" Majo Rika remembered the things she sold to the girl before. Those would do. "Here, there are pendants. They are not what you are looking for, but are just like it. You can wish for whatever you want..."

"Really? Can I try one?" Doremi asked.

"Hmpf! I only accept effective," the old witch said. Doremi tried her best not to sigh. Whenever Majo Rika was Awake or not, she wanted to gain money. She picked some yen from her Subspace Pocket (Majo Rika didn't notice it, though, she didn't want to finish the charade showing she had powers), and gave them to the old lady. "Thanks, now, you can try them."

Doremi picked one. 'And now, the fun begins.' "Thanks. Now... I WISH EVERYTHING TURNS DARK!"

And so it did.

"H-Huh?! What happened with the light?!" Majo Rika shouted. Whenever she tried to light something, she just couldn't.

' _I have to thank Apple Bloom for making darkness lights for me,'_ Doremi thought, escaping from the Maho-Dou. "You know, you're right, this will work! Thanks!"

"Wait you-"

Suddenly, the light returned...

But everything else was gone.

Majo Rika and Lala just blinked. Then the witch snapped her fingers, and two packages appeared. "Well, so much for my shop. C'mon Lala, we're returning to Majo-kai!"

"And now, what are we going to do with this?" Doremi asked.

"Well, with the Porons, we can give a few to Apple Bloom and Dr. Light and see what can do they do with them. As for the other things... I can send them to the school as a gift." Onpu said.

"Good plan... but how does Hana fit in all of this?"

"... oh, Kami."

* * *

4.7 - (DrTempo)

[Hellsing/Castlevania]

"Hard to think I got stuck in this role."

That was one Seras Victoria, aka Police Girl (she hated that nickname, and it was even worse when everyone in her home Loop called her that), and Anchor of the Hellsing Loop.

She'd been around since the early days of the Loops, back when Sakura was still in her 'REALLY insane' phase.

The Loop where Sakura had replaced Millennium's Doktor still sent shivers up her spine. As for the role she was in this time, she was in the role of the 'other' Alucard during the events where Richter Belmont'd been possessed. Seras had played the game which chronicled these events during a Hub Loop, so she knew more or less what to do. The powers she had here were nice, as well.

Having to hold back so much as not to cause suspicion and potentially cause surprises, though...At least she could test her combat skills. Right now, she'd just slain the dark priest responsible for the whole mess, and her 'father' had just been revived. What he said next surprised even her.

"Well met, fellow Looper."

WHAT THE... Seras took a look at the man sitting where the Prince of Darkness'd appear; instead of the man she expected, she saw a different person. One she recognized.

"Soma Cruz?" Said man nodded.

"Correct. Pleased to meet you...Seras Victoria, I believe?"

Seras, confused and bewildered, asked the obvious question. "Where's Dracula?"

Soma laughed. "Isn't it obvious? I'm right here. Keeping this place Anchored is not an easy job, and keeping a low profile and having this Loop's Alucard pretend to be the Anchor is annoying."

Seras thought to herself, Well, that reveals who's Anchoring this particular Loop. Makes sense though. He IS Dracula. Impressive how he's fooled quite a few Loopers, though.

Soma chuckled again. "I've heard tales of you, Seras. I have a feeling despite my usual Loop lasting over a millennium, I haven't had enough time to stand a chance against one who has your level of experience in these Loops. Still, I expect you'll pull no punches. I've no intent on doing so."

Seras smirked, and summoned her shadow arm, which surrounded her blade. "Trust me... I won't. Enough talk. Have at you!"

Soma snickered. "That's MY line. Let's go!"

* * *

4.8 - (KrisOverstreet)

[Haruhi Suzumiya]

When the elder Asahina failed to visit me before the Sleeping Beauty incident, that was the third strange thing about my fifteenth Loop. Unfortunately at the time I gave it the same amount of concern as I had the first two: none whatever.

The first strange thing was Haruhi spending more than a day as a member of the baseball club. Girls are supposed to play softball, but Haruhi insisted on playing for the men's team. After seeing her fastball and her running speed, the captain agreed. She lasted eight days before the school administration ordered the club to remove her. I found out later from her that she would have quit after the third day, once she'd mastered pitching the curve. But when she was told by the principal that she couldn't stay on the team, she refused to accept defeat. By the end three-quarters of the team was on her side. That was a group of boys really desperate for a winning season, for once... and with Haruhi they would have had one, one way or another.

(Later on, when the SOS Brigade entered that baseball tournament, we still needed Nagato's bat to win, but we never came close to the ten-run mercy rule. When the Pirates' captain came up to me, it wasn't to ask to buy the bat, but to ask if Haruhi would consider joining as a backup pitcher. I sold him the bat as a sort of consolation prize. I don't like to think of what would have happened if he'd asked Haruhi directly. Probably neither did he.)

The second strange thing happened during the first, when a certain lovely second-year student, stammering so hard I could barely understand her, tried to recruit me to the calligraphy club. Nothing I had ever said or done in middle school, or during my brief time at North High, suggested that I had either interest or talent for writing with the brush. Granted, I spell better than anyone else in class, but that's a minor, unimportant thing. Surely it wasn't enough to bring the cute, irresistible Asahina to class 1-5 while Haruhi was spending every break fighting the administration for her right to pitch overhand.

Unfortunately I couldn't accept the offer. I knew what was coming. In a couple of weeks the invitation would be going the other way, and only an answer of "yes" would be accepted. I couldn't join a club wth Asahina in it under such false pretenses. Besides, as lovely as it might be to stare at her while pushing a brush across parchment, I preferred to enjoy my period of going home early for the brief time it lasted.

I never stopped to consider why Asahina would seek me out like that. Nor did I spend more than ten minutes wondering why Asahina (elder) never showed up.

Not until Tanabata.

-x-X-x-

I wasn't particularly surprised when I woke up on that park bench, nor when Asahina told me it was July 7, three years to the day before the point at which we'd begun. Asahina had told me she was a time traveler, and I hadn't asked for any proof. And if Asahina has passed out asleep like she'd done fifteen times- no, wait, only fourteen, counting the time Nagato had been ordered to kill me- anyway, if she'd passed out asleep of course I wouldn't have been surprised.

When she didn't, surprise was the least of it.

Asahina (elder) not showing up to prove time travel existed and to drop her hint was one thing. But this was a point in time Asahina absolutely had to be present for. She had to put her younger self to sleep so she could point me to a certain middle school and a certain middle school student. And as soon as she accomplished that, she had to meet me from six months in my future, from the disappearance, so we could first confront Nagato and then go back to the future and prevent the disappearance from happening.

Even telling you that confuses me, and I've lived through it time and again. Now imagine how confused I was, trying to figure out how any of it would work out without a second time traveler.

And as I stumbled through the motions of being John Smith for young Haruhi, with Asahina watching from the fence, I never stopped to think about why Asahina (elder) hadn't shown up.

And I let it slip my mind until December 12, a week before the disappearance... when Asahina disappeared.

-x-X-x-

"I don't believe this!"

Haruhi waved the letter in front of my eyes again, as if I could read it with her jerking it back and forth like that. "Three weeks in America? No warning? No announcement? No assignments from teachers? And not a word to the brigade chief?"

Well, let's be honest; you're pretty intimidating. I can see why a girl might not want to say something like this to your face. She might be afraid you'd rip her arm off.

"That's absurd! How could anybody think I'd harm a hair on her head? The very idea!"

So you say, but I could make a list of things you've done to her that were harmful, or at least incredibly cruel, if I were feeling suicidal. But it was only a few weeks after the cultural festival, and I didn't want to dig up the bad feelings from filming the movie again. Instead I simply asked, "What are you going to do?"

"I'll tell you what we're doing!" she snapped. "If she's going to America for Christmas, then we're going to have a Christmas party so big and so fun she'll regret missing it for the rest of her life! We're going to outdo an entire nation with our Christmas!"

Typical Haruhi answer, but even as we spent the next few days planning out a Christmas feast, games, even a comedy program, I felt the absence. So did Nagato and Koizumi. There was a hole in the brigade, and Haruhi's attempts to pretend it wasn't there only made it more obvious. The day before the disappearance she drafted Tsuruya to be the brigade's fifth member, but it wasn't the same.

I recovered from activating Nagato's emergency program as usual, in the park off the path, hidden from that eternal park bench by some bushes. I saw myself and Asahina sitting on that bench. I felt sweat begin to trickle down my neck through my winter clothes.

And then I felt a hand on my shoulder and a quiet, "Ssshh," in my ear. It was Asahina.

Slowly, quietly, I turned to look at her. Like me, she was wearing cold-weather gear. This was the Asahina who had "gone to America." Odd, this didn't look much like Hollywood to me.

Asahina didn't smile at my little joke. I could see tears forming in her eyes, tears she was trying very hard not to shed. "You have to come with me," she said. "Please."

To Nagato?

"Yes. As soon as our past selves leave."

So, for some reason the younger Asahina was taking the role of the elder.

And only now, only now did I ask: why?

But I couldn't ask Asahina. She wouldn't know.

And I couldn't ask Nagato when we got to her apartment, because this Nagato wasn't the one who had apologized for allowing Asakura to kill me eight Loops before. It wasn't the Nagato who had run the Literature Club with a silent iron fist three Loops before, much to Haruhi's bemusement. This was an ordinary Nagato.

Ordinary Nagato? That phrase shouldn't exist!

We went through the routine of explaining what had happened- Haruhi's power stolen, the world altered, with only myself left with memories of the previous world.

"I cannot go. Your past selves will be here shortly. I must be present to meet them."

Oh, that's right. Normally Asahina (elder) and I have a discussion about the situation, and about the fact that she's her own immediate superior. That consumes time, enough for me to meet young Haruhi a second time and reinforce the name John Smith. This time none of that had happened. Asahina (younger) hadn't said a word, and we had come straight and swift to Nagato's.

But Nagato's failed synchronization with herself of our time had given her knowledge of our impending visit. Once again the story repairs itself. And for only the second time, I ask myself, why?

But I can't spend any time thinking about the question. Not when Asahina follows by saying, "My superiors don't want me to go with you either, Kyon."

The hell? I can't jump three years forward in time on my own!

"I can send you forward myself," Asahina said. "The trip will be rough, but you... you..." The tears she'd been fighting finally burst out, and her lovely soft body pressed itself so hard against mine I thought I'd suffocate. "I don't care what they say!" she sobbed. "I'm going with you! They sent me to watch you, and after all these months I'm not going to say goodbye now!"

What? Weren't you sent to watch Haruhi?

"Th-th-that was a lie," Asahina gasped. "I was told to tell you that. But we had someone else watching her from a safe distance. I was sent to watch you."

Watch me? Why me?

"C-c-c-clas-sified... c-c-classified... B-b-classified information!" She shrieked in frustration, squeezing me tighter in her arms, her bosom squishing in a very distracting way against my side. "I can't say it! I can break training to go with you, but I can't tell you why! I wish I could!"

This wasn't strange anymore. This was wrong. Up until this moment I could ignore the differences, since everything had gone on as usual. But Asahina sent to watch me? And ordered not to go with me, when she would be needed to help repair history? That didn't make sense.

I shot a glance at Nagato, whose hands were clutching her school uniform skirt. They weren't trembling, but even that grip on fabric showed me this wasn't the Nagato of three years ago. This was the Nagato of three days ago, the Nagato on the brink of giving in to emotions she'd never been designed to experience.

"My future self does not want you to go," Nagato said quietly.

Well, I certainly can't stay here. There's already a me here, twice over, and the older of the two will be here any moment.

Besides, I'd made the decision when I activated the escape program. I was committed. I had to see it through to the end. To stop now, with the job less than half done, wasn't fair to the human Nagato of the disappearance, whose life I kept sacrificing for the SOS Brigade.

One day, I swore, I'll let the change become permanent, just to see what happens. But today I can't.

And so the younger Asahina and I went forward through time, to the early morning of December 18th of my first year of high school.

-x-X-x-

This time I didn't question Nagato. I didn't try to ask her what she had meant by changing the world. (Some time I won't wait for Asahina, big or small, to drop the shield. I'll confront Nagato just before she makes the change and ask. I can always tell her to go ahead anyway, to keep the timeline tidy.)

No, we waited as Nagato grabbed the air and did something Asahina could see but I couldn't. And then, as Nagato staggered, becoming the ordinary president of the Literature Club, we stepped forward. The dart gun made by the Nagato of the past, intended to revert the human Nagato to her true self, felt heavy in my hand.

And I hesitated. I've never been able to pull the trigger, even knowing what I knew had to happen, what I knew had happened. Looking into those terrified eyes behind the glasses, hearing that shy voice gasping, asking inarticulate questions. Feeling like an absolute heel for taking away Nagato's first genuine wish for herself.

And, as usual, the blade in my right kidney took me completely by surprise.

"I won't allow anyone to hurt Nagato-san!" Ryouko Asakura's voice, shouting right in my ear.

When Nagato had stabbed me, it hadn't hurt at all. This stabbing always hurt.

"I'm right here, Nagato-san! I'll always be here to protect you!"

Asahina screamed.

I realized, even as I collapsed, why Asahina (elder) had never appeared. The Asahina from the future didn't exist in this Loop.

Because Asahina had no future.

Because I had no future.

I'm going to die here, I thought.

"That's why I'm here, right? That was your wish, right?"

Nagato had foreseen this somehow. She'd even gone so far as to send a warning message to herself of three years before, somehow.

"Does it hurt? Of course it does. Savor the pain. It'll be the last thing you feel in this life!"

No. I have to close the loop. If I don't reset Nagato...

My future self isn't going to bring Nagato and Asahina to rescue me. I have to do it now.

I saw Asakura raise her bloody knife for the final blow. I saw young Asahina, shrieking with terror, unable to move.

And under the streetlight I saw a blur which was probably Nagato, trembling, too scared to scream herself.

I raised the dart gun.

I think I pulled the trigger just as Asakura's second stab took me straight in the heart, but I'm not sure.

For an instant I felt absolute, total agony.

And then I didn't feel anything anymore.

Anything.

At.

All.

-x-X-x-

That shuddering breath again, and then the shallowest of breaths after, as I lay absolutely still in my bed and listened to the frantic beating of my completely intact heart. It was four thirty-eight AM on the morning of my first day at North High School.

I probably would have repeated my performance from the last time I'd died had my phone not buzzed on the table next to my bed. After the fourth buzz I reached a shaky hand over to pick it up.

 **YUKI.N]** Awake

 **YUKI.N]** Asahina is with me

 **YUKI.N]** Both Asahinas are with me

 **YUKI.N]** Come at once

I don't remember getting dressed. The only reason I know I used my bike to get to the station is that I remember having to retrieve it from impound later. I don't remember anything from the moment I read those messages until the moment, just as the light of day was brushing out the last shadows of night, I keyed in 708 on the intercom and said, simply, "Here."

The door to the apartment complex buzzed open, and I ran up the stairs rather than wait for the elevator. I didn't even take off my shoes in the entryway. I remember the burning in my chest by the time I got to the sixth flight, but I don't think I actually slowed down until I actually got to the door.

And when Nagato's door opened, Asahina (younger) barreled through it, crying and wailing, and hugged me tight around the waist. Behind her, standing in the door, the taller, elder Asahina stared at me with a sad smile on her face. For just a moment I thought she might begin crying as well, but of course the elder Asahina was stronger than that.

Somehow or other the three of us joined Nagato in her living room. The bedroom door, of course, remained shut; the bedroom where the Asahina and myself of over three months in the future lay frozen in time. Asahina (younger) kept crying, still hugging me tightly, occasionally whimpering something incoherent. Nagato sat down and deliberately removed her glasses, revealing herself as the Looper, the one who had experienced the SOS Brigade from beginning to end.

And there was also Asahina (elder). "Why are you here?" I asked her, the first coherent words any of us spoke.

"Because I was here," she answered. "This was established information. And as you can see," she said, gesturing at her younger self, "the first time I was here, I was in no condition to explain anything to you."

I looked at Nagato. She looked slightly tired, as if, however curious she might have been about why two different Asahinas were in her apartment, she would appreciate it if the visit were kept short.

"This is going to be difficult to describe," Asahina (elder) said. "First, Nagato tells me you are aware that both she and you are under the influence of a strange temporal anomaly, something even we in the future don't understand."

I nodded agreement. It didn't seem like that long since the phrase temporal anomaly would have been some nonsense Koizumi would go rambling about, rather than something I was personally expert in.

Asahina (elder) pointed to her weeping younger self. "My younger self is now under the influence of the same anomaly," she said. "She remembers having lived for almost two years as part of the SOS Brigade, years which haven't happened yet. This shouldn't be possible as we understand time travel."

It's both comforting and disturbing to learn that there are things about time that you don't know, Asahina-san.

"It gets stranger. She also has a second set of anomalous memories. They end with your death at the hands of Ryouko Asakura. At the moment of your death a massive timequake struck the timeframe you were in, opening up into a temporal fault that eventually devoured the universe."

And she told you this? No, wait, stupid question. You are her, so you remember it.

"Not... exactly." Asahina (elder) looked uncomfortable. "She is part of the temporal anomaly. I'm not. It's impossible for me to explain properly, and not just because of classified information. Your language simply doesn't have the words. But there is a... disconnect, of sorts, between myself and her. I know the facts of what she experienced, but I don't have the actual memories." She tapped her head with a finger. "It's like someone told me everything like in a story, but without any pictures. She was there, but I wasn't."

She threw up her hands, surrendering the fight to explain. If I were you, Asahina (elder), I'd give up too.

I gingerly placed an arm around Asahina (younger)'s trembling shoulders. I had to call home to let my family know what had happened- a friend was in trouble and I'd rushed to help, no details. I had to get not just myself but Asahina (younger) to school, a job Asahina (elder) absolutely couldn't help with.

But I sat there for a moment, mind still jumbled from having died, from my point of view, an hour before.

All I could think of was: How is Koizumi going to get me killed?

And when Haruhi joins this little dance round and round time, how high will the body count have to be?

I wouldn't mind getting killed by Tsuruya. She'd probably make it hilarious.

But I draw the line at being killed for Taniguchi or Kunikuda. Sorry, we're lunchtime friends, but I'm just not dying for you.

* * *

4.1 – Sometimes you just need to let it all out. Time-travelinggical card spirits make excellent counselors.  
4.2 – Different role, same old Tomoyo.  
4.3 – A message of hope and despair. One half of a single whole, awaiting reunion.  
4.4 – With age, comes experience. Passing on a little wisdom to the next generation.  
4.5 – People are People, and clothes are clothes! Except when they're dragons.  
4.6 – Do Re Mi Fa So, so many things are going to go wrong with this troublesome little witchling.  
4.7 – Dracula... meet Draculina.  
4.8 – Casualty of Causality: The Disappearance of John Smith.


	5. Chapter 5

5.1 – (KrspaceT)

[Gurren Lagann/Soul Eater]

"Just who the hell do you think I am!"

"Just who the hell do you think I am!"

Maka just stared in horror as the meeting that should never have occurred, did.

"Do you think this is going to FUBAR the Loops into another conflict with the daughter of Medusa, Orochimaru and Voldemort?" Soul had to ask in terror.

"Honestly...I think it might just be worse" Maka gulped.

"WORSE!?

"I am the mighty Kamina, the champion of manliness!"

"I am Black⭐Star, the one who will surpass God!"

"Bro...please stop before you Crash us into the Evangelion Loop with Nina-Rei and Lordgenonedo Ikari, again." Simon begged as his blood brother and the recently awakened assassin looked ready to duke it out, for apparently no reason.

"Black Star, what is going on?" The non Looping Tsubaki was absolutely clueless about what Meister Kamina's weapon meant by 'Loop'.

"I'll tell you what is going on Tsubaki, Enchanted Sword Mode!"

"Simon, Spiral Drill mode!"

Simon and Tsubaki knew they were going to regret this, but did so anyway, as a giant one handed drill and a magical sword appeared in their respective meisters possession, sparking with their various powers.

"I'll teach you to respect your Looping elders kid!"

"Put a shirt on and don't wear those stupid sunglasses!"

Maka just face palmed as their conflict obliterated a huge trunk of the DWMA.

* * *

5.2 - (Harry Leferts)

[Girls und Panzer/Bolo]

Miho was just walking through some woods this Loop. She had Awoken on what seemed like a different planet and one where there were legends of metal titans who protected people and a massive war. A war of which there was plenty of evidence as one could point to a ruins of a city or massive fortifications across the planet. Nonetheless though, Miho decided to use it as a Loop Loop of sorts, hence why she was wondering through the woods.

Grant you, she was using the excuse that after the massive flood from a landslide damn failing a few days before, she was checking the damage on the paths outside of the town. Looking around, Miho frowned in thought as she bit her lip. 'It's a nice day and it's not like anyone would notice me driving a tank... could be good practice.'

It was then that she reached a portion of the path washed out by the flood, but that was not what stopped her. Rather, it was the massive section of metal that she could see below. "What in the..." Making her way down the slope, she wandered around the metal "Deck" even though she could see what looked like a cannon sticking out of the dirt on the other side of the wash. "Hmm..."

As it turned out, it was only the work of moments to find a tear in the side of what she had begun to suspect was a massive tank and make her way inside. Not like she was too frightened of death anyways. Not too long afterwards, she entered the cockpit and recoiled at the sight of a skeleton in a chair. Unnoticed by her, when she jumped back she managed to hit a flashing red button...

-x-x-x-x-

 _Initializing Reboot..._

 _Error 96_

 _Error 235_

 _Initiate Emergency Reboot Alpha..._

 _Error 21_

 _Error 21_

 _Attempting to bypass..._

 _Error 79_

 _Critical failure_

 _Initiate Emergency Reboot Beta..._

 _Error 15_

 _Error 19_

 _Attempting to bypass..._

 _Critical Failure_

 _Attempting to bypass..._

 _Critical failure_

 _Initiate Reboot Gamma..._

 _Status... Successful._

 _AI Diagnostic Started..._

 _Status... Successful..._

 _Accessing Databanks..._

 _I am BXXXIII-6947-NKE (Nike). When I first came online, I was told that my name was shared by an earlier mark of Bolo which had demonstrated great bravery. During the last days of the Final War, I was assigned to protect this world alongside my Commander. The Malconians were numerous and while we prevented the extinction of humanity on this world, we were unable to prevent a large scale bombardment. At one point, I suffered enough damage to irradiate my cockpit and within two point six nanoseconds I realized that my Commander had suffered from a lethal level of radiation poisoning._

 _I did not feel saddened, angered, or grief as I am of the Line. My Commander's last orders before he died was for me to power down until the Concordiant arrived with relief forces once the enemy was driven back. And so with most of the population centers wiped out, I headed toward the nearest surviving group of humans, fighting every inch of the way. Once I detected that there was no more attacks, I followed my Commander's last orders and powered down._

 _As I came back online, it took one point six seconds for a systems check. Realizing that this was meant that I had been damaged, I sent automated repair drones to the damaged areas. More intriguing was that my internal clock determined that I had offline for five hundred, twenty six years. Within nine nanoseconds I calculated that this meant that the Concordiant had fallen. All this occurred within fifteen seconds of coming online, which meant that I had time to observe the young human currently in my cockpit as she observed the skeletal structure of my now dead Commander with what my databanks told me was sadness. I decided that more time was needed to observe._

-x-x-x-x-

Saddened, Miho looked at the skeleton in the chair in sadness. 'To die alone...' Looking around at what she now figured was in fact a tank if the diagram on a flickering screen was right. It was then that she froze and slowly turned to look at the screen. 'It's... on... that means that...' Her heart beat increased as she heard something and turned in time to see other screens come on. "Oh... Pine."

A voice which sounded somewhat female, though artificial echoed through the compartment. _"Please state your name, rank, and authorization number."_

Gulping, Miho looked around. "Um... M-my name is Nishizumi Miho and..."

-x-x-x-x-

 _It has been a eleven point six point three years since I have met my new Commander, Nishizumi Miho and much as been discussed. At that first meeting she managed to guess my authorization code which I found... humorous. When she had asked why it was the name spelt by my identification, I answered that my former Commander had ordered it changed to such before he died so that any surviving forces of the Concordiant could activate and command me. Commander Miho, for some reason, held one hand against her face in what my memory banks have termed a 'Facepalm' while there was a large drop of water that slowly dripped down the side of her head._

 _After I accepted her as my new Commander, she gently removed the remains of my former Commander and buried him. I had asked her where she had learned military burial traditions and she had, after sixteen seconds, gone on to explain that she had been in a military school. It was only five point nine point seven years later that she had explained that she was what was termed an "Anchor" for time loops. I expressed some surprise and interest in being shown proof. Commander Miho then proceeded to do so by seemingly creating a small tank from nothing. However, my sensors detected a tear in time and space for approximately two point three nanoseconds. As such technology was far beyond known possibilities, I accepted her explanation._

 _Since then, she has explained much to me about these "Loops" and I have found myself feeling... angered at some of the Loops she has explained. My Commander has expressed some surprise at how I wished for her to place me within her "Pocket" and take myself with her. I explained my reasoning which she excepted after a time. For I shall protect Commander Miho, and her friends wherever we may find ourselves. I shall protect any humans and other innocents from danger. For I am BXXXIII-6947-NKE . I am a Bolo and a Unit of the Line. And as I have was told by my former Commander..._

 _Bolos might fail. They might die and be destroyed. But they did not surrender and they never-ever- quit._

 _For the Honor of the Regiment._

* * *

5.3 – (Vinyshadow)

{Hellsing/Prototype]

"Alex Mercer! You people-eating sack of shit!"

"Alucard! You people-drinking son of a bitch!"

The Prototype and Vampire punched each other in the face and shared a knowing pair of grins.

-x-x-x-x-

Deep within the bowels of the Hellsing building, Sir Integra felt a shudder course down her spine, as if she was about to get-

The phone rang, and she stared at it as if it was a grenade. Hand shaking, she picked it up.

 _"INTEGRA! You wouldn't believe what I've been up to!"_

Integra turned on the TV, and was stumped to see nothing out of the ordinary on the news.

"Hello, Alucard. What's got you in such a fine mood?"

 _"So, I was feeling rather Loopy and stumbled upon a nice Anchor..."_

"Yes, I'm wide Awake, get to the point."

 _"Mercer's here."_

Integra wanted to weep.

 _"And we just finished a nice...walk in the downtown. Alas, nothing came out to play and Alex...not Anderson - say, isn't that rather funny? My best friend and best enemy both have the same name?"_

"Where's Alex now?"

 _"Fighting my best enemy."_

Integra let out a long sigh. "Right, well, I can tell you two are going to have fun. Play nice and try to keep the collateral within our budget."

 _"I make no promises."_

He hung up.

-x-x-x-x-

"Ve have one thing zhey'd never expect: zeppelins!"

"Ah, Major?"

"Ja?"

"Vhell...our reports of vhis...Mercer character...vhell..."

"Vhat is it, vhat do zhey say?"

"He...has a very special hatred for flying vehicles."

"And you didn't tell me zis sooner because...?"

"You...never asked."

"How boned are ve?"

There was an explosion outside and they turned to see three zeppelins going down in flames and a many-tendriled thing flying at them.

"...Very."

"Well, Mercer, your latest excursion resulted in billions of dollars worth of aircraft destroyed-"

"Military only. I don't touch civilian craft and commercial airliners," he interrupted. Integra glared at him while Alucard stifled a snicker.

"Why do you hate them so much?"

"They're loud, obnoxious and usually try shooting me when I'm trying to enjoy a meal."

"Well, I guess we know what you'll do for a Klondike bar," Alucard grinned.

"Seventy inch plasma screen TV," Alex retorted.

"...Touché."

* * *

5.4 - (Kalimaru)

[Kill la Kill/Super Smash Bros.]

Ryuko was having a hard time adjusting to this. Everything had been Baseline, even Mako's bizarreness was normal. But this?

Coming down the stairs, in front of all the bowing students, was a giant white glove. Nobody was even remotely surprised by it, and the only sound at all was the soft swishing of fabric as the hand walked.

Leaning down, Ryuko started whispering with Mako. "What's that thing?"

Mako gave Ryuko a chastising look. "That's rude, Ryuko! Master's not a thing, it's a he! He's Master Hand!"

Even Senketsu lost it at that. "There is no possible way this is legit. Ragyo has to be messing with us somehow."

-x-x-x-x-

As it turned out, Ragyo was very much not messing with them.

Impaled, Ragyo glared down at Master Hand. "To think that you would so rudely interrupt your own mother with this! After all I did to raise you!"

Master Hand's only response was a one finger salute.

Down below, Ryuko chuckled. "I think I'm starting to like this guy."

* * *

5.5 – (KrisOverstreet)

[Lucky Star/Haruhi Suzumiya}

Imagine, if you think you can, how terrifying it is to wake up in the morning, stumble into the bathroom, and realize the face in the mirror isn't your own.

I've since learned that this happens to Loopers, especially Anchors, from time to time, but the first time it happened to me I couldn't understand what was going on. Before this point things had always been the same at the beginning, with absolutely nothing changed right up to the moment I woke up on the first day of high school. The face in the mirror was always the face I always remembered having, with its serious but not stern features permanently fixed in their proper place.

What I saw that morning wasn't me. Gawping back at me in the mirror was some wide-eyed little kid who apparently decided to keep on being cute right through high school. Every expression that face had was in some way adorable. I couldn't make that face look serious, no matter how hard I tried! Stupid face! Why can't you get some dignity? You can't even do grumpy right! Come on, look grumpy! But of course it was no use. The closest I could get to grumpy-looking was an expression something like a rabbit twitching its nose.

Over breakfast, with a family who felt familiar but definitely weren't my own- for one thing, I had an elder sister, not a younger one- I began to experience for the first time what many Loops later I would be told were "Loop memories," the memories of the Unwake me who had lived from birth through the moment I Awoke in a world not my own. I could remember elementary and middle school, vacations with my family, cram school the previous year, and of course scraping into the elite Ryo-o High School in Saitama. It was an entire life, all in my head, floating like jetsam on the surface of the many, many copies of the same life I'd already lived.

Loopers eventually learn how to speed-read through these memories to grab the really vital information they need to not be killed or humiliated in their first ten minutes Awake, but of course I didn't have that. How could I have practice with a phenomenon I'd never encountered before? So, without that iron focus of mind, the new memories would act just like old ones, popping up unwanted and without warning or context. That might be why a certain annoying fact didn't come to my attention until homeroom began.

(While I'm thinking about it, what was with that teacher? We sat there for twenty minutes in silence, watching this blonde ditz so focused on her handheld video game that she couldn't be bothered to even tell us to introduce ourselves! And come to think of it, she spent so much of her time head-down in a computer or video game, it's a wonder she found any time in her packed schedule to teach! How insufferably lazy! Teachers are supposed to be dedicated, energetic people devoted to shaping the next generation's leaders! They're not supposed to be ambitionless slackers just gliding their way through life from day to day!)

(Don't look at me like that. I never said I wanted to be a teacher.)

Anyway, eventually we got to introduce ourselves- or most of us did. By which I mean, all of us who got to speak before me. When I stood up, things came to a grinding halt.

"Um, from-"

"Hey, look, it's Kyon."

This came from one of the earlier students, a very short girl with long hair and the biggest cowlick I've ever seen. My new memories supplied a name: Konata Izumi, one of the stranger girls in the middle school I'd recently attended. Apparently, as my new memories told me, she was a fangirl's fangirl, the master of the overnight cram session, and otherwise possibly lazier, I admit it, than me.

Still, I don't think we'd ever actually shared a class, and in any case that was before I Awoke. So what right does she have to hang that nickname on me in this world where my name is even MORE not Kyon than it usually isn't?!

"Ah... my name is not Kyon. In fact, it's-"

"Sit down, Kyon. Kyon is Kyon because he always has a snarky comeback." Konata leaned back in her chair and looked at the girl behind me.

I had just a moment to look myself. The poor girl had her hair down in a pageboy cut, which half-concealed a face that looked very, very ill. What was she even doing at school, if she's sick? The first day isn't an excuse to spread your germs to others! Show responsibility and stay home!

"Oh, and Haruhi's here too."

The sick girl, who looked nothing like Haruhi, shook in obvious shock. Without standing, she stammered, "My name is Ha-ha-Haruka Fu-fu-fujimiko."

"'Cause in three years of middle school Haruhi always sat behind Kyon," Konata finished.

"Stop calling me that," the sick-looking girl said. "It wasn't funny last year and it isn't funny now. I don't even watch anime." Her eyes widened as she realized what she'd said. "I don't? What anime?"

"That's a shame," Konata replied. "Anime is the defining art form of Japan for the postmodern age! It's a phenomenon that's conquering the world and displacing Hollywood as the great influence on pop culture!"

I didn't bother listening to any more of that. "Teacher," I said, "I'm taking Fujimiko to the nurse's office. I don't think she should be in class in her current condition."

"Fine, fine," the teacher (that ditz) said. "Just remember, it's against school rules to re-enact eroge scenes on campus."

Wh-wh-what? I was going to do no such thing! And what kind of teacher says such things?

Anyway, I have no idea what happened with the rest of the introductions, because I was helping Fujimiko (who was five centimeters shorter than Haruhi- built more like Nagato, to be honest) down the hall to the nurse's office. Which, naturally, was unattended at the time. I helped Fujimiko sit down on one of the beds and asked her if she was all right.

"No," she said. "I keep trying to say your name, to prove all of this is a bad dream, and I can't say it."

What's difficult about it? My name is-

"I don't mean Tazuki Kazutome," Fujimiko said. "I mean Kyon's real name. I didn't recognize you because you look so different, but when you made that face after being called Kyon, I knew it couldn't be anyone else."

Now it was my turn to sit down. Fortunately a folding chair lay next to the bed, and I fell into it. Is this girl telling me-

"Half of my mind is telling me I'm Haruka Fujimiko. The other half is screaming that I'm Haruhi Suzumiya, and that none of this is right!" She reached over and grabbed me by the uniform collar, hauling me closer, all the better to shout right in your face, my dear. "This isn't like all the other times! Only little things changed then! Yes, things kept repeating, but they were the same things! I could try to figure it out, try to understand why they were repeating, maybe figure out a way out!" Now she was shouting, shaking me hard enough to give me a sore neck. "And somehow I know it'll all be fine if you can just tell me what Kyon's name really is!"

How many thoughts could try to jam their way through my poor ordinary brain at once? Certainly all of them in the world tried to do just that, battering against my mind rapid-fire, like waves of fire-arrows coming down on the daimyo's castle roof.

Haruhi was Awake. She'd been Awake all along- well, for how long? Nagato wasn't always Awake, and Asahina only three times in total so far.

This person trying to give me whiplash was Haruhi. The voice was wrong, the face was wrong, the body was very wrong, but the tone of voice, the cadence of speech, the callous insensitivity to her own brutality- all of these things were definitely, unmistakably Haruhi.

How think were the walls, exactly? How far would the sound of Haruhi's shouting carry? There was the teacher's lounge and administration office between us and any classrooms, but still!

"Say it! What is Kyon's real name?"

Fine, if it'll get you to let go of my jacket. My real name is...

I couldn't say it.

I could see the hard-to-write kanji in my mind. I could hear those elegant, tongue-tying syllables echoing in my ears. But when I tried to say them, my mouth imitated a carp's. Lips moved, but the jaw just worked up and down, and no sound came out.

What the hell? I had never had any problem saying my name before waking up in this world. Not that anyone ever paid any attention. Only Nagato failed to call me Kyon, and that was because she never referred to me as anything but, "You." Had I lost the ability to claim my proper name through sheer disuse? Was a name something that could atrophy?

No, stupid idea. Stupid, stupid idea. Go back to Osaka and sell things.

But I had to tell Fujimiko- Haruhi- I had to tell her something.

"Kyon's real name is John Smith."

There. Yes, I said it. And now the universe can end. I'm sorry, universe. It was nice knowing you.

The girl didn't let go of my jacket. In fact her grip grew tighter, and she yanked upwards enough that I could see the whiteness of her knuckles. "Idiot," she said. "That. Wasn't. Very. Damn. Funny."

"Fine. It wasn't a joke. For some reason I can't say the name you're looking for either. But if we're both stuck in this world that's not the one we know, then I stand by that name. Kyon is John Smith."

"Idiot." Haruhi's grip loosened, and she began to tremble. "Stop making jokes about things you don't understand."

Why is it, Haruhi, that when I lie like a candidate for the Diet you lap it up, but when I tell you the bald, unvarnished truth you can't accept it? Well, whatever.

"Hehee."

That wasn't Haruhi. It certainly wasn't me.

We both looked back to the door of the clinic, where Konata, her eyes half-asleep as always, grinned at us like some kind of mental defective.

"What do you want?" Haruhi- Fujimiko- oh, I give up, Haruhi- asked.

"I knew it was you two by the time I finished watching the third episode for the first time," Konata chortled. "You two always act so much like them." She pointed to Haruhi. "You always speak bluntly, and you sulk when things don't go your way. You're an ace in academics, and you're top-tier in athletics, but no club's ever managed to tie you down." She pointed to me. "You always whine and complain about other people bothering you, but you'll let anybody and everybody bring you their problems. Haruhi here most of all. And you can't let anyone say something foolish without a comeback."

What makes you think I can't keep my mouth shut when people say stupid things, just because I always choose not to?

"See what I mean?"

Despite still trembling, Haruhi managed a chuckle.

Konata's grin grew even more mischievous. "Besides, your names are just no good. Kazutome is a made-up name, and Tazuki is a family name, not a given one. Fujimiko's legit, but it means 'Fuji shrine maiden,' right? And Suzumiya means 'shrine bells.'"

My parents are both Kazutome, as is my elder sister and my grandfather. Its not a made-up name! It's just... really rare. Really, really...

Nope. Even I don't believe it. She's got us dead to rights.

"Don't worry, I won't tell your secret," Konata grinned. "Who would believe me? I'm just the lazy, obsessed otaku girl, right? Even my friends will think it's just me giving you weird nicknames." If the girl grinned any more, her head would come completely unzipped just below the ears. "But I have a price."

"This is blackmail!" Haruhi protested.

Since when has that ever bothered you, when you were on the extortioner's end of the deal?

"I want you to introduce yourself properly," Konata said. "Not as Fujimiko. Introduce yourself as if this was North High in Nishinomiya."

Haruhi made a face. The features were different, but in that moment the face was one I'd seen far too many times. If Haruhi can make her face do Haruhi things, I demand equity! Give me back a face that knows how to frown, dammit!

"Say it," Konata intoned. "You know you want to. Saaaaaaay iiiiiiiiit."

"Fine!" Haruhi snapped. "But only so you'll stop being so creepy, all right?"

"Sure, sure."

Haruhi closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, forcing the last of her nervous tremors away. It was like a transformation, like watching the old crone be revealed as the goddess Athena, prepared to punish the mortal who dared be better at something than her. She stood up from the bed, her nervousness and nerve-sickness vanished. Fujimiko was gone, and Haruhi Suzumiya, in all but form, stood with her arms folded before us.

"From East Middle School, Haruhi Suzumiya!" she barked. "I have no interest in ordinary human beings, especially creepy ones!"

"Say it right!" Konata complained.

"If there are any aliens, time travelers or espers present, come see me. That is all!" Haruhi finished, flopped her butt back on the nursing cot, and glared at Konata. "Satisfied?"

"Well, the voice isn't quite right," Konata sighed, smiling so hard her eyes had turned to half-circle lines like some kind of cartoon drawing. "But everything else was just so perfect! It gives me little thrills every time I think about it!"

"Yeah, yeah, a deal's a deal, right?" Haruhi asked. "Are we done?"

"Not quite." She looked at me. "Say, yare yare."

"Good grief."

"Say it again."

"Oh, brother."

"Again!"

"Gimme a break."

"Again!"

"Yare, yare!"

"Again!"

"Don't I get any better lines than that?" I asked.

"Catch phrase!" she said, giving a thumbs up. "It's super-effective! And you say it differently every time, but it's all Kyon!"

I don't even.

"You did it again!"

"That's enough!" Haruhi snapped. "We're going back to class now! And this is the end of this talk, understand?"

"Fine, fine," Konata nodded. "But you're keeping your nicknames. You'll probably find it easier that way anyway."

"Wait a minute," I asked. "There's still one thing I don't understand. How do you know the names Kyon and Haruhi, anyway?"

Both Haruhi and Konata looked at me like I was the biggest fool on Earth. "Kyon, don't you remember?" Haruhi asked, in the softer tones of voice she'd used in the classroom. "She's been calling us that ever since that anime aired last-" Her eyes went wide, and the Haruhi frown was replaced by one of the brightest and most terrifying Haruhi-grins I've ever seen, before or since.

"I'M AN ANIME!"

⭐ Lucky Star⭐

I was grateful as hell for a number of things regarding the revelation that, in this strange but familiar world with unfamiliar faces, Haruhi had an anime named after her. First, the anime wasn't actually airing at the moment; it had ended the previous fall, and the first DVD volume wouldn't be coming out until May, well after Golden Week. Still, Haruhi made Konata promise to bring her loaner copies of the three currently extant manga volumes to school the next day so she could see what it was about. It took every bit of persuasion I had in me to prevent Konata from giving a complete spoiler-filled synopsis of the show right there and then. Disaster averted... but only for now!

Of course that made my mission for the evening obvious. Every penny of pocket change I could put together at home went with me on a quick train ride to Akibahara, so I could seek out the series for myself. I had to know just how closely this anime ran to the world we knew. Was it totally different? Was it a complete tell-all? Or did it conceal some things and reveal others? I needed this information immediately, because beyond all doubt Haruhi would throw it in my face when she found out, tonight or tomorrow or, if I was very lucky, the next day. I would need answers no later than Thursday- sooner if the Fujimiko household had an Internet connection.

I learned the hard way that Haruhi's anime was not just filler for a weak season. Apparently it had been the biggest hit of the previous year. Three manga shops were completely sold out, with restock not expected until the fourth tankubon came out in June. The fourth store had no copies either, but the clerk pointed me to the used book shelf, where someone had just traded in a complete set thus far of all the novels- and the novels, having come first, went a long way beyond the manga or even the anime at this point.

But even at half-price- eight novels? With the ninth one to be released at the end of the month? If Haruhi decided to resume her habit of imposing penalties whenever she wanted snacks, she'd have to find someone else to punish. My eight books and I barely had enough change left for the commuter train back to Satte-shi.

I admit I liked the illustrations. I don't think anime art styles are capable of capturing the subtleties of Nagato's expressions or the absolute magnificence of Asahina's beauty. And Koizumi I couldn't care less about. But I had to admit my own likeness, my serious but reliable mien, and my dismay at Haruhi's constant shenanigans came through exactly as I felt them. Likewise, Haruhi's moods, from exuberance to melancholy to anger, had been captured perfectly in as few lines as possible.

I stayed up half the night reading the first novel. It was worse than I'd feared- and I don't mean the writing, which I thought better than average for light-novel kiddy fare. It revealed absolutely everything, hiding nothing- and worse, the point-of-view character wasn't Haruhi, but me.

I can't describe to you how spooky it was, reading my own thoughts, my own feelings in every detail, as if I'd written them myself... when of course I'd done no such thing, not being suicidal.

(Hey, you, Tanigawa! Or whoever you are! If you're going to write my story like this, why name it after Haruhi? _The Melancholy of_ \- damn, I still can't say the name- _The Melancholy of Kyon_ would have been a lot more appropriate! Or how about _The Sigh of Kyon_? _The Barely Controlled Terror of Kyon_? _The Stress-Induced Migraine of Kyon_? All I'm saying is, quit aiding and abetting Haruhi's stealing of the spotlight!)

The next morning, by a fluke of luck, I ran into Konata before Haruhi arrived. "I have one quick question," I said, not even stopping for introductions. "Are the mangas written from Kyon's point of view?"

"Of course," Konata nodded. "And Kyon narrates the anime, as Kyon should know."

My head sagged into my hand, mainly because I couldn't bury it any lower.

"You haven't told her a thing, have you, Kyon?" Konata asked. "You're in for trouble, yessir."

I don't suppose I could be so lucky as for you to have left those manga volumes at home.

"Loaner copies one-two-three right here," she replied, patting her bookbag.

Not good. So far from good that light would take fifteen billion years to reach good from there, which effectively meant it and good no longer existed in the same universe.

"Oh, morning, Haruhi," Konata said. "I'll give you the mangas at lunch, okay?"

Haruhi, or Fujimiko or whatever you want to call her for the moment, had arrived just as the tardy bell was ringing. Ms. Kuroi was at her desk and, surprisingly, alert and attentive, and she didn't give us much time for the personal thought I desperately needed to take. She didn't pull out her video game system and begin ignoring us until after lunch, and even then she put it down and began teaching again when we got too noisy or when the bell between classes rang. By that time, of course, Haruhi had the mangas in her possession.

If there was something I could say to warn her off the mangas- no, of course there wasn't. No egotist so pure as Haruhi could resist learning everything possible about anything with her name attached. And after reading the first novel, I knew that barring a miracle there would be no way to persuade her that the more fantastic parts of the story were made up. Maybe the Haruhi of the original world, thirty-odd Loops ago, might have been able to explain away the coincidence... but a Haruhi who, by her own admission, had been repeating the same years over and over, who knew strange things were a definite reality, that Haruhi wouldn't be able to lie to herself anymore.

So, lying was out. Once Haruhi read those mangas, she'd have to know everything else, too. She wouldn't let anything stop her. She'd go on to the anime and to the novels and to whatever else existed. Nothing less but the whole truth would satisfy her.

Fortunately I had the whole truth, or as much of it as I ever intended to tell anybody, ready to give her. In eight convenient volumes, with a ninth on the way.

The next day Haruhi was waiting in the classroom when I arrived. "I read the first chapter," she said with a grin, holding up the manga volume. "You should see how you're drawn! Your head is shaped like a lemon with a dirty mop on it!"

I couldn't argue. A quick flip through the first chapter showed really flat artwork, nothing like as talented as whoever did the illustrations in those novels. My head looked squashed in all but one or two panels. The only character the manga artist did any justice to was Nagato.

"Tell me, Kyon," Haruhi asked, "were you really that pathetic at first?"

Keep reading, and don't bother me about it until you have a real question.

"That was a real question! There's no room in-"

And don't make a scene... Fujimiko.

Haruhi, realizing where we were, shut up, put the manga away, and turned her attention to classes.

⭐ Lucky Star ⭐

The next day, Thursday, Haruhi wasn't grinning.

"I read the second chapter," she said. "Is it true?"

I haven't seen it. What's in it?

"Yuki. Her apartment. And Asakura."

In the classroom?

"Is it true or not?" Her voice wasn't cracking a whip and demanding obedience. Nor was it asking me to lie to her. It was more the Fujimiko voice than Haruhi's, the shy, put-upon girl whose life Haruhi seemed to have taken over the same time I took over this cuetsy-faced boy's life.

"Yes, it's true."

"Yuki's really an alien? Asakura really tried to kill you? You really went to Yuki's apartment?" These were questions Haruhi completely failed to ask. Instead, having got my answer, she spent the rest of the day staring at her hands in deep thought.

Konata cornered me at lunch. "Looks like she's got through the second volume of the manga," she said. "Do you think she'll make me an esper so I can go into closed space and defeat her Celestials?"

First, don't be such a fangirl. Second, she says she's only read the first two chapters.

"Wow, she's slow. I read through a tankubon in half an hour." Konata cocked her head a little, still smiling that sleepy smile, and added, "If she's this depressed now, think how moody she'll be when she finds out about Sleeping Beauty." She pointed a finger at me and made a shooting motion. "You'd better be ready, Kyon!"

Yeah, big help you are. Why don't you go bother that Takara girl?

"Yeah, she is fun to tease, isn't she? Doesn't she just trigger your megane fetish?" Konata giggled. "Oh, I forgot. You don't have a megane fetish. You're into ponytails!"

It's infuriating to talk to a near-stranger who knows more about my life than I do.

⭐ Lucky Star ⭐

Friday came.

"I read the third chapter."

I expected as much.

"Am I really that frightening?"

Keep reading, Haruhi.

⭐ Lucky Star ⭐

The weekend passed uneventfully, allowing me to finish reading those eight novels. They more or less comprised our first year of high school, Haruhi, myself, and the SOS Brigade. They left a few things out, like the experiment with the rock band during third term, but all the major incidents were in them... along with all the emotions, all the stray thoughts, all the snide remarks I'd made in the privacy of my own head.

I had to come to terms with the fact that those thoughts weren't going to be private anymore. Like it or not, I was a storyteller, and Haruhi was going to be a truly demanding fan. A three-year hiatus simply wouldn't be permitted. I'd have to produce on deadline or face the penalty.

Then Monday came.

"I read the rest of volume 1 over the weekend."

Good for you.

"Do you really hate the SOS Brigade that much?"

No questions about Asahina or Koizumi yet?

"Answer me, Kyon."

Keep reading, Haruhi.

⭐ Lucky Star ⭐

Tuesday, at lunch, in the courtyard.

"Did that dream really happen?"

Which dream, exactly?

"Don't play games with me! That funny world with the gray skies and the glowing giants! Did that world really happen or not?"

"Have you got that far in the story yet?"

"No, but the first chapter of the second volume has a grown-up version of Mikuru in it! And she mentions the name, 'Snow White!'" Haruhi slammed the bench we were sitting on. "I remember every bit of that dream, Kyon. I don't remember most of my dreams, but every time history repeats I always have that dream at the end of May, and it's always more real than reality! And I especially remember how it ends!"

Keep-

"Don't tell me to keep reading! Answer the question, damn you!"

I thought about it for a moment, then said, "I haven't read the manga, but I'm going to say that yes, it's all true, every bit. It wasn't a dream. And I'm not going to waste time answering more questions about how I feel, then or now, until you've at least got past that dream in the story."

Haruhi glared at me, mouth set. I knew that expression well enough by now. She was furious with me, but she couldn't say anything without letting out something she didn't want to admit. Which, of course, made her even angrier.

"I'll admit something to you," I said. "I rushed out and bought the novels that manga was based off of last week. Once you've got past the dream, I'll lend you the books. I've read them, and they're more accurate than I wish they were. All right?"

Haruhi didn't answer. She just stomped off.

I had the books with me Wednesday, anticipating the obvious.

But the obvious was postponed.

Haruhi never showed up that day. About midway through second period, Mrs. Fujimiko came to pick up her assignments.

That afternoon, as we were about to go home, Konata said, "We're going to visit Haruhi."

"What do you mean, we?" I asked. "I don't know where she lives now."

Konata held up a piece of paper. "I snuck a look in the school directory in the office," she said.

"Okay, fine, but why you? I'm the Kyon around here, as you won't stop reminding everybody."

"I'm going," Konata said, "because if Haruhi gets upset and destroys the world, I'll miss the next episode of Code Geass."

⭐ Lucky Star ⭐

I don't think Mrs. Fujimiko would have let me in if Konata hadn't been with me. Haruhi's here-and-now mother had got two paragraphs into an unsolicited explanation of how sick she was and how she couldn't have visitors before the little blue-haired otaku girl had asked about her mangas. "I loaned them to her last week," she said. "I'd like them back if she's done with them, please."

That, plus a lot of calm, confident persistence on Konata's part got us in the door and up to a room which looked nothing like the one Haruhi had in our home world. Appropriate, since she looked nothing like she did back home either. That moment she looked even less so than before. I'd never seen Haruhi Suzumiya so openly... depressed isn't the right word. Haruhi got depressed off and on all the time, but this Haruhi was actually sad about something.

The mangas lay stacked neatly on her desk. I picked up the third volume and flipped through it idly.

"The artist got better at drawing you, John Smith," Haruhi said quietly, the first words she'd spoken since we entered.

I looked. Well, I wasn't a lemon-head anymore, but the lines were so sparse and nondescript I could have been a background character in _GeGeGe Kitaro_.

"You tried to tell me." Haruhi sat on her bed with her back to us, not looking at us. "You tried to tell me, and I didn't believe you. I even made a joke about it, with the movies."

What was I supposed to say? This wasn't the moment for I-told-you-so, no matter how long I'd been waiting to say it.

"I thought everybody was having fun." Haruhi slumped forward, looking even less like herself by the moment. "I thought, once it got started, it'd be so fun everyone would want to stay. And it turns out they were only staying because they were all afraid of me. They weren't having fun at all. They were saving the world from me."

That's not true, Haruhi.

"Isn't it?" She pointed a hand back behind her more or less at me. "The baseball game. You wanted nothing to do with it. You hated every minute of it. And you had to cheat to win because you were afraid I'd destroy the world if we lost."

Not your fault, Haruhi. Nobody can control their subconscious mind. You just thought baseball was a silly, easy, boring sport. You didn't realize-

"I didn't realize everything's easy for me because I'm God, and it's not so easy for everyone else? I kinda got that already, Kyon."

I'd had enough of this. I grabbed Haruhi's shoulder and turned her to where she couldn't face the wall anymore. I damn near shoved her off the bed, to be honest, but I wasn't going to settle for anything less than looking her in the eyes, even if they weren't her eyes. "Listen to me, Haruhi," I said. "You only got your powers about the time you were starting middle school. You weren't God before then, but you were still smart and talented in a lot of things. Sasaki told me. She was in the same elementary class as you, under another name."

"What does she have to do with anything?"

"Yeah, who's Sasaki?" Konata asked. "Is she the new character in the cover art for the new book coming out-"

Some people have no ability to sense the mood. "Sasaki is like you," I said. "She creates closed space. She has her own group of espers. And she's most definitely not God. In fact she was offered the job by a group of people who wanted to give her your powers in addition to her own, and she refused. If she's not God, neither are you. You're just a very talented girl with abilities she can't control."

Haruhi snorted. "So I'm not God. I'm just someone who can destroy and recreate the universe on a whim. Big difference."

"Sasaki also admires you."

Haruhi froze.

"So does Tsuruya-san, though she's just an ordinary human genius. So does my sister." My hands moved on their own, as if I could find the words I wanted in an invisible filing cabinet in front of me. What, am I becoming an Italian? "When you're at your best, you kind of... give off this light, or something. You make people want to follow you. You make people want to be more like you." I shrugged and added, "But I admit, at your worst you're absolutely insufferable."

"My worst? Like what?"

I'd laid my bookbag on the bed when we came in. I opened it up and withdrew the second novel in the series- The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya. "This is the second book in the novel series. It contains the moment when you're at your absolute worst as a human being." I thumbed through the pages and found the part I wanted, then thumbed forward to the end of the scene. "Read these four pages," I said. "There's a second passage a little later I want you to read after that."

I'd picked the evening after, during the filming of the movie _The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00_ , Haruhi had ordered Asahina thrown into a pond. Haruhi had slipped Asahina some sake in order to make her drunk enough to do a love scene with Koizumi. What followed was four pages not so much about Haruhi being horrible- that would only have taken a page to describe- but about how my mind worked at the one moment when I'd actually been so angry with her that, if not for Koizumi's sharp reflexes, I would have punched Haruhi full on in the face.

Haruhi got to the point where Asahina passed out from the booze and handed the book back to me, wordlessly. Her mouth was firmly set in the I-don't-dare-say-anything line, but her eyes said all I could want to hear. I flipped forward only a few pages and said, "Now read what happened the next day at school, beginning with Taniguchi complaining."

She found the spot, read for a few pages, and looked... confused. But still silent.

Haruhi wasn't God, and I wasn't going to let her be a stone Buddha either. "A manic Haruhi is scary," I said. "An angry Haruhi can be downright terrifying. But nothing is worse than a depressed Haruhi, and not because of anything you might do with those powers of yours. A depressed Haruhi simply doesn't fit properly in the world. You need to be going full tilt ahead, and damn the torpedoes. That's why I told you I wanted to keep making the movie. That's why John Smith helped you draw that design on the school grounds."

"Shut up, Kyon." Haruhi turned from me to face Konata. "This idiot keeps stumbling over his tongue. I'm tired of it. You're a fan of this manga, right?"

"And the anime! I've got half a dozen statues and gachapan of you alone, plus some of the other SOS Brigade members! You're my favorite character!"

"Why? How can you enjoy a story about me?"

Konata held up a finger. "Haruhi Suzumiya isn't just about super powers and harems and things like that."

What? Harem? Who brought harems into this?

"Haruhi Suzumiya is a heroine for those of us who don't quit fit in to what the world expects of us," Konata continued. "She's a bit mean and selfish, yes, but when she wants something she doesn't complain about how it can't be done. She doesn't let the rules stop her. She makes miracles happen." That sleepy-eyed smile never faltered as she concluded, "She's so wonderful, she can even make a place where a klutz, an emotional cripple, a man who can't show his true feelings, and a disillusioned cynic can become a family. In the real world that's impossible. But Suzumiya doesn't take impossible for an answer. Haruhi gives us hope."

See? There's a lot to deplore, but there's a lot to admire about you, too.

Haruhi snorted again. "The stories make you look like a whiner," she said.

"There's a book about that, as it happens," I said. I took the rest of the books out of my bag and stacked them in order on her desk, first one on top. "I think the manga goes in chronological order. The books don't, but you should probably read them in publication order anyway. And don't make up your mind about yourself until you've read them all." I put my hand on the stack and said, "This covers most of the big events of our freshman year, from the first day until almost the end of third term. All of us changed a lot in that one year. Don't judge by an incomplete picture."

Haruhi stared silently at me. Well, she was staring at me now, so there was some improvement.

"Anyway, we'll be going now," I said. "Konata, don't forget your mangas."

"Just a minute," Konata said. "I need to ask Haruhi one more favor?"

"What?"

Konata pulled a felt-tip marker out of her bookbag. "Can I get Haruhi Suzumiya's autograph?"

Like I said, she really needs to learn to sense the mood. Even Nagato's better than this.

⭐ Lucky Star ⭐

Haruhi returned to school the next day, but she didn't speak to me until the following Monday, when she simply said, "I finished the first book."

And that was all she said to me for that day, and the next, and the next.

On Thursday she asked me, "Who really did edit the movie?"

I've never found out. If I had to guess, it was a certain person's subconscious.

"It wasn't that bad! The film society had to have a second screening because people demanded to see it!"

All guys eager to see Asahina in a bunny girl outfit and her waitress outfit. The film was tripe.

"You just don't appreciate high art, Kyon, even when you're helping make it!"

Aren't you moving a bit slowly though those books anyway?

"I have studying, homework and projects to work on at nights too, Kyon. Or have you forgotten we're high school students?"

I'm in high school for the thirty-somethingth time. I think I can manage a C average.

"Unacceptable! Todai! Tokyo University, and nothing less, and on the first application! Nothing else is acceptable for both of us!"

You realize the world is probably going to reset before we set foot on campus, right?

"That's not the point!"

⭐ Lucky Star ⭐

Haruhi had joined Konata and her friends, Takara and the Hiragi sisters, for lunch. They seemed to be getting along, in a sort of bickering way. Kagami Hiragi was from the class next door- in fact she was the class president, but already half of our class referred to her by first name, she spent so much time over here. She and Haruhi seemed to be in the middle of a contest to see who could be the most tsundere about Konata's otaku tendencies. Konata, of course, was eating it up, along with Haurhi's and Tsukasa Hiragi's box lunches.

When the group broke up, and Haruhi walked back to her desk, she said, "You slept with Mikuru?"

Nothing happened!

"Right, in the same way no footage was shot of Mikuru changing clothes?"

"Look, Nagato froze time in that room! We closed our eyes, and three years passed, like that!"

"Snacks for a week, Kyon! Penalty!"

Oh, brother.

"Did somebodies say their catch phrases?" Konata grinned, popping up next to us and resting her chin on Haruhi's desk.

⭐ Lucky Star ⭐

"You know about insects, Kyon?"

Of course Haruhi wouldn't talk about the fact that she'd been left completely out of the mystery of the computer society president's disappearance. That fact had to piss her off, but there was no way she could argue that it wasn't necessary.

"I collected bugs as a little kid for a couple years," I said. "I read books about them. No big deal."

"Next time a giant insect attacks, I expect you to tell everyone its elemental weaknesses and vulnerable points!" Haruhi commanded.

It was an alternate dimension, not an RPG! And what do you mean, next time?

Haruhi held up a jumbo-sized pack of colored markers in one hand and an art pad in the other, grinning evilly.

Don't you do it, Haruhi! Nagato isn't here this time! For the love of God, somebody stop her!

⭐ Lucky Star ⭐

The next day Haruhi said only one thing to me all day.

As we passed each other on the way home for the day, she said, "Thank you for trusting me."

At least, I think I heard her say it. But it was such a non-Haruhi thing to do, I must have been hearing things.

⭐ Lucky Star ⭐

It was the last day before Golden Week.

Haruhi was late to class, and when she arrived she didn't bother sitting down. She strode over to me, grabbed my wrist, and hauled me out of the classroom into the hallway, right there in front of everyone else. The teacher didn't notice, since she was calling on us to read passages at random from our books while keeping her eyes on the laptop she had on her desk. Couldn't she quit farming for gold and do the job she's paid for?

In the hallway, Haruhi said, "I finished Disappearance late last night, Kyon. I have just two things to say to you."

Fine, say them so we can stop disrupting classes.

"First, from now on you can tell Nagato's boss that you don't need to use the name John Smith anymore. Nagato is part of the SOS Brigade, and nobody's taking her away from us, ever."

Fine, whatever. And the other thing?

"YOU IDIOT!"

Her shout cracked down the hallway, and instantly every classroom door popped open, including our own, and dozens of heads poked out to see what was going on.

"What kind of idiot gets what he's been asking for for most of a year and throws it away like that? If I'd been moaning to myself about how useless Kyon was and woke up in a world where Kyon was a smart, go-getter, take-charge guy, I wouldn't push a button and put everything back the way it was!"

Whatever. I knew there was no use explaining it to Haruhi. She'd have to live through the circumstances herself to understand. I'm pretty sure if she did drop into a world where I acted like a male version of her, she'd move heaven and earth to get the real me back just to save her own sanity.

"That's all! Now let's never talk about this again!"

We probably would have avoided detention, despite it all, if a Level 75 barbarian hadn't come along and PK'd Miss Kuroi just before we got into our seats.

⭐ Lucky Star ⭐

"So, did you read the other books over Golden Week?" I asked.

"Of course."

"Planning on giving them back anytime soon?"

"You told me everything resets when time resets. We can't keep ordinary possessions, no matter how interesting. So quit complaining!"

That would be no, then.

"So," I asked, "any comments on what you read?"

"If I ever meet Mikuru's older self I'm going to tell her off!" Haruhi said. "'Established information,' my ass! If people can travel in time, then they can change stable time loops to make them less cruel! It's not right to make Mikuru cry like that!"

Except when you do it, I didn't say.

Haruhi glared at me and said, "Have you noticed that, when you think something but don't say it, sometimes I hear it? Do you think that's my power at work?"

Er...

"I thought so." Thankfully Haruhi changed subjects. "I don't know why you make such a big deal about that computer game. It's not my fault you can't understand my tactical genius!"

I see the emergency aid supplies of denial and arrogance have arrived from the United States and air-dropped into your skull.

"You're thinking loud again, Kyon."

"Fine," I said aloud. "Any coments about the skiing trip?"

"None."

Of course not. You don't want to admit-

"Learn to whisper in your head, Kyon."

Arrrgh! "I'm just going to study, then. You can take notes from what's in my head."

"One more thing." Haruhi looked away from me for a moment, taking a deep breath. Then she locked her eyes on me and unleashed a stampede of words, all rushing to escape captivity and stumbling over one another in the process.

"I'm sorry for giving you a hard time about spending time with Mikuru when it was all about making sure her timeline stayed intact because I know that's really important for a time traveler but don't think that means anything special understand?"

Is Konata around with a recording device? I don't care about the reset, I want evidence of this moment even if it-

"Never mind, Kyon. You're hopeless at mental whispering. I'm just going to have to learn to tune you out. I am the god here, after all."

Whatever, Your Holiness.

"I heard that."

⭐ Lucky Star ⭐

"WHAT IS THIS?"

"Oooh, is that the new novel?" Konata gazed in wonder at the book Haruhi was waving in my face.

"This isn't a full story! It ends halfway through! What kind of a ripoff is this? And what's with these alphas and betas everywhere?"

I took the book from Haruhi and thumbed straight to the back. "Oh," I said. "Split timelines. A clever trick you pulled. Don't you remember, now that you know about the other stuff?"

"No," Haruhi said, shaking her head in frustration. "I remember Yasumi, but I don't remember this business about Nagato being sick! Every time I think about it too hard I get a headache."

"Probably your subconscious telling you you're not ready for it, then," I said. "In which case, better I not tell you."

"You mean you're going to make me wait for a book, when you've lived through it?"

"Look at the bright side," Konata said. "The most you'll have to wait is a year to find out, right?"

Haruhi frowned. Obviously she wanted it now. "Why can't I just make the book appear now, then?" she asked. "Can't I just will it to be written?"

"Sounds like you'll have time to practice those powers, then," I said. "Maybe you could start small. Like a UFO catcher doll of yourself for Konata here."

"Oooh, could you?" Konata smiled. "Make it the one in your winter school uniform. I've already got all the others!"

⭐ Lucky Star ⭐

That kept Haruhi off my back for a good month, until she finally figured out how to make the doll appear in her bag one day.

As for the book, the Loop ended three years later, with no release date announced for the tenth book. Haruhi did get to see the first chapter in a magazine just before the end, though.

I imagine she would have been furious about it... if other events hadn't intervened.

* * *

5.1 – Stars and Spirals  
5.2 – Team Anglerfish just got one hell of an upgrade.  
5.3 – Just two best frenemies having a night out on the town.  
5.4 – Life-Fiber Override: Kamui Master Hand!  
5.5 – Otaku Queen meets S.O.S Goddess. Even when not Awake, Konata is ultra savvy.


	6. Chapter 6

6.1 - (Tabac Iberez)

[Hellsing/Girls und Panzer]

Starting the Loop, Miho felt something... off. It wasn't that grimy, stained off that represented an abridged loop, or the just plain weird for a Variant. No, this one smelled like a Fused Loop. Shrugging, Miho made sure her flask was out and loaded. Fused loops didn't need as much booze as Variants, so this could go either way.

-x-x-x-x-

After seeing her Tankery teammates, Miho drained her flask. So this Loop, there was an additional club, with a Valentine light tank. The, gasp, Novel Club. Looking over Seras Victoria, their leader, Miho just took a shot and got ready to talk to the leading Looper. Miho was getting to be an old hand at this, and they had the look. Grabbing Seras, she pulled her into a corner, and got ready to do damage control.

"Loopers?" she asked, blunt.

Seras was taken aback, but nodded. "Yep. Hellsing is our home loop. So what's the deal here?"

"Big ships, tank battles, moe. Welcome to Girls und Panzer. Are you all Awake?"

"Me and Alucard are, not sure about Integra. Also, despite claims to the contrary, Alucard is a guy."

Miho leaned a little, looking past Seras. "Alucard's the one in the little red jacket, black hair, flirting outrageously with Erwin?"

Seras turned, and took a quick look. "Yep. Odd, that hat's from the Wehrmacht. He's told me he hates Nazis, so that's strange as hell."

-x-x-x-x-

While Seras figured out with Alucard the difference between the Heer and the SS, Miho frantically worked the new tank into her battle plans. That was the fun of Fused Loops, after all. They let her try new things, and meet new people- a valued commodity for someone like Miho. She really hoped she got some more Loopers soon, though.

More importantly, it also gave her an opportunity to try new things. Such as figure out how vampires worked, so that the next time she accidentally ended up in that loop that was infested with the sparkly ones that wouldn't stop bothering her she could kill them right instead of hiding in Nike all loop. Alucard was incredibly helpful in that respect, although the offers for lesbian sex in their tanks did get annoying after a while. They slacked off after Miho heard some odd rumblings from the Tankery shed one night, though. For some reason, Hana did seem to develop a taste in red flowers after that night, so Miho could connect the dots.

-x-x-x-x-

Nearing the end of the Loop, Miho raised an eyebrow. Black Forrest Peak had been disqualified from the finals, due to "An incident with the coaching staff." Alucard was being particularly smug, though. Miho just rolled her eyes and got ready to go against whatever the committee scraped up. Wasn't worth worrying about this close to Autosage and the Loop End.

* * *

6.2 - (Harry Leferts)

[Evangelion/Land Before Time/Jurassic World]

Littlefoot was wiping out a glass before he turned to Ducky who had been staring at something. "And what did we learn?"

Shuffling a little, Ducky blushed a bit. "Um... to be really careful about what I mix into a smoothie and to make sure that if I am adding honey that it is really honey..." She glanced to the side again and nodded. "Yup! Yup! Yup!"

That caused Littlefoot to chuckle some and pat her on the head. "Exactly." It was then that Owen walked in and sat down. "So, Owen, what can I do you for today?"

Frowning, Owen glanced up at the menu and frowned some. "I'll have the..." Having seen something out of the corner of his eye, Owen blinked and then turned. For several moments he was silent as he stared at the sight before him and then looked at Littlefoot. "Um... just one question but... how...?"

As he put the glass into a rack, Littlefoot grinned a little. "Ducky mixed up the honey that she was adding to Gendo's drink. Instead, she added Invid Flower of Life nectar. It has some... effects, especially with what else was in his smoothie, let's just say."

With a disbelieving stare, Owen glanced at Ducky who gave him a sheepish grin before he turned back to where Gendo was and blinked.

More then a minute passed as he looked at the flying high as a kite Gendo. Part of Owen did wonder where the colors came from as well as the sparkles, though he remembered that weird guys who wore green leotards and decided not to ask. "Right..." He did scoot a bit further though at the strange music...

* * *

6.3 - (KrisOverstreet)

[Haruhi Suzumiya]

Yet again I stood atop that multi-purpose building, full of shops and offices and other things, listening to Koizumi describe closed space and his role as an esper. Why can't the Loops come with a fast-forward button?

"I am able to detect the emergence of closed space. So can my colleagues. The reason we are able to do so is a mystery. But we know the time and place of emergence without knowing why. And the method for entry, as well. I am unable to express this sensation in words."

And yet you keep on wasting my time trying. How I wished Koizumi could say _because Haruhi_ and leave it at that!

"My powers are not limited to detecting and entering closed space," Koizumi continued. "You could say that I've been granted powers which reflect Suzumiya's rationality. If the world is like a-" That smug, confident smile vanished in an instant. "It's here!" he gasped, tone of voice completely changed. "But it can't be! It's far too close!"

For a moment I wondered what he was talking about, and then a glowing wall of blue appeared behind him.

"Celestial!" Koizumi shouted. "Quickly, run! It's not safe here! Get down the stairs as fast as you can!"

Even I could see it was far too late for that. The giant manifestation of Haruhi's inner turmoil had already lifted an arm and was bringing it straight down towards the roof where we stood. Koizumi dodged one way and I dodged another, and the arm came down between us, cleaving the roof like butter.

The portion of roof I was standing on peeled away from the building, and I felt myself falling.

Koizumi, body glowing, reached out a hand to try to catch me. The Celestial swatted him away, and down I went.

As the ground approached, and as bits of the building broke up around me, I had enough time for two thoughts. The first one went something like, _Why wasn't I consulted about whether or not Koizumi should start Looping? At the least I could have chosen a more pleasant way to get killed._

The second thought struck me only a couple of moments before I hit the ground. It came to me when I saw a third human in closed space, a fact which ought to have been impossible. The specific human- the middle-school girl in a high-school uniform, the yellow smiley face pin in her short-cropped hair- the fact that it was that particular human meant I felt no surprise at all at seeing her.

 _Watahashi,_ I thought, and then I hit the pavement head-first.

Four thirty-eight in the morning, the first day of high school, I sat bolt upright in my bed, hands grabbing my head. My total absence of headache was already beginning to give me a headache.

Someone offered me a cool, damp washcloth. I lay back down and let them put it on my forehead.

"Sorry about that, sempai," a young female voice said, "but Haruhi wanted Koizumi to start Looping, so I had to give the system a bit of a bump."

I groaned. Yasumi Watahashi looked like an underclassman. In a baseline run I wouldn't meet her for over a year from this moment. For that matter, normally she wouldn't exist until a year from now. Watahashi was a creation of Haruhi's subconscious, like the Celestials, only less destructive.

"How do you mean, a bit of a bump?" I asked, sitting up again while holding the washcloth to my head. "I think knocking me off the top of a tall building is a bit more than just a bump!"

In the unlit room, I thought I could just barely see a short figure cocking her head and smiling. "That's not important right now," she said. "But right now, you should call Koizumi and let him know he's not going crazy."

Something dropped onto the bed next to me. I put my hand where it landed, found my cell phone, and opened it up. "And what am I supposed to tell him?" I asked.

No answer. I flipped the phone over, using the display to light the room. Watahashi wasn't there.

Right. I had no idea where Koizumi lived, but I did have his phone number memorized.

"Hello, you've reached Itsuki Koizumi's phone. Unfortunately I can't answer right now, so please leave a message."

"Koizumi, are you listening? This is Kyon." I felt ridiculous. If Koizumi hadn't started Looping, there was no way on Earth he'd know that nickname. He'd have no reason to. The only person who knew I had any association with Haruhi Suzumiya was Nagato, and that only because she had a copy of me frozen in time in her bedroom, returning from three years in the past the long way.

"We need to talk," I continued. "Meet me at the café by the station after school. You know the place."

–-

The Koizumi who sat across the table in front of me wasn't the one I was used to. I remembered numerous conversations, repeated numerous times- how many now, forty? fifty?- in which Koizumi had told me about his happy, smiling, pleasant act, and how he feared becoming the role. Well, there wasn't a trace of a smile on his face now. Those eyes that so seldom looked directly at anything stared straight at me now.

I wasn't sure this was an improvement over the act.

"I've spent the whole day trying to reconcile a logical paradox," he began, after I joined him at a booth. "I remember my entire life, or at least all of it since kindergarten. I definitely have not traveled in time or visited an alternate dimension. And yet I have memories of things that haven't happened yet." Koizumi sipped his coffee and added, "You are in those memories, of course. Otherwise the circumstances of this meeting would be much different, I assure you."

I love you too, Koizumi.

"And then there's the truly disturbing thing," Koizumi continued. "The freshest memory I have actually conflicts with those future-memories. I remember taking you to a certain place, letting you observe certain phenomena from a safe distance, and bringing you back home safely. And I also remember things… ending less pleasantly."

Yeah, I know, I died. What happened after I died?

"The… phenomenon… swatted me away, and then it tried to catch you. It wasn't fast enough to do both. When you hit the ground, it screamed. I've never heard a Celestial scream before." Koizumi shuddered. I guess a Celestial's scream isn't pleasant to hear. "Then closed space began to break up, but instead of the real world, there was nothing outside. Just void. And when the breakup reached me, I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock this morning."

So, pretty much the same thing as happened with Nagato and Asahina.

"I see. And that was?"

I explained- about time repeating, about my two prior deaths, about Nagato and Asahina occasionally Looping along with me. And, of course, Suzumiya.

"I'm surprised she wasn't here with you."

"She drew the first cleaning duty," I said. "But I suspect someone arranged for that to happen."

"Nagato?" Koizumi's head tilted. "I doubt Asahina's people could arrange that, and I know the Agency hasn't done so."

"Haruhi. After a fashion. It's complicated, but to put it simply, she's limiting her access to her power, no, I mean she's limiting her knowledge of when she uses it."

Koizumi nodded. "That fits with a lot of theories we espers discussed," he said. "But I gather by what you said that Suzumiya does have some knowledge of her power."

Put it this way: she's never short of change for the snack machine.

"Then it's even more of a pity she isn't here," Koizumi said. "You see, I'm still stuck with that dilemma. Let's presume that any and all beings in a universe is a potential Looper, able not merely to repeat portions of history- as we did in that endless summer, of course- but to remember iterations."

I don't know about that 'any and all beings' part.

"For sake of argument. Further, let us say that a strong enough shock- a difference from the normal history, in such a fashion that makes the rest of the history impossible- can trigger the Looping ability in a person. Logically, that person would begin the next Loop with only the memories of the prior Loop, the one which ended prematurely."

I shrugged. I'd already given up on logic after spending so many repeats of high school with Haruhi Suzumiya.

"And yet I have memories of incidents after that point," Koizumi continued. "There's no logical reason for me to have those memories, and yet I have them."

I nodded. "Nagato and Asahina had the memories, too. I don't think either of them ever questioned it."

"So is this some side effect of Looping?" Koizumi sipped his coffee again, then added, "If so, where did the memories come from? Why do we have them?"

"Because," said a short figure walking towards the café's doors, "Haruhi thinks it's stupid for people who Loop to not know how history went the first time."

Koizumi began to stand up, but I grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the booth. Watahashi was already out the door, and of course she wouldn't be anywhere in sight once we got outside. And what would I ask if I caught her, anyway? "Hey, why don't you ask somebody else before bringing more people into these stupid time loops?" Pointless.

After a moment, a ghost of that annoying smile appeared on Koizumi's face. "Of course," he said. "You told me Haruhi's keeping herself from knowing about her powers."

About most of her powers. Would you like a claw-machine doll of her? She can do that now, you know.

"That's tempting," he said, "but I think it'll be safer if you ask for it, and I collect afterwards."

* * *

6.4 – (TrueZero2)

[Sly Cooper/Gurren Lagann]

You know, Awakening in what looked like a tech-bay was definitely a plus. I quickly checked to see what my body looked like in this Loop, since I didn't really think I was in my home Loop this time. No mirror nearby so no getting a look at my face, but it did feel human, so nothing too far from standard Fused Loop forms at least. Looking at the rest of me, it was definitely a human body that I'd ended up with. Oh good, my hair's still blonde. From the look of my clothes as well as the tool belt I was wearing, this tech bay belonged to me.

"Ooh, looks like this might be a pretty tech-heavy Loop that I'll be working with. Right, first things first. Loop Memories, let's see what we're dealing with."

The memories were a little bleak to be fair. From what I could tell, there were two types of sentient life on the planet, humans and Beastmen. Humans had been forced to live underground in small, isolated villages, while the Beastmen roamed the surface, killing any humans to find their way up there.

At least, they'd try to. From the look of things, I was part of a village that had gone up to the surface. There we'd banded together to drive off any…

Oh.

"There are giant robots here." I said to myself, dropping the memory check immediately. After checking my Subspace Pocket, I came to a conclusion. "Crap, I'll need to either make some room or get more space. I _will_ be leaving this Loop with a robot in tow."

Deciding that the latter would be easier for now, I grabbed a handful of bolts and started to run through those exercises that Bentley had shown me a long time ago. Once I met up with the Anchor, odds were that I'd be able to get a better estimate on how long I had to build it up. Hopefully it'll be big enough to fit a robot in come the end of the Loop.

-x-x-x-x-

It sucked to lose a team member like that. The Anchor, Simon, and I seemed to be the only ones Awake for this Loop.

So when Kamina was killed in battle, I needed some time on my own. There was just… something about him that made me feel like he'd be a great fit for the Cooper Gang.

"Hey, are you OK Penelope?" Simon asked, knocking on the door.

' _It's not like there's anyone else I can talk to so openly right now._ ' I thought, deciding to let him in.

"Hey, you're upset about Kamina, right?" Simon asked, sitting down beside her. All I could really respond with was a silent nod.

"You know how I took it the first time I went through it?" Simon said, "I fought. I hated myself for what had happened when I could have saved him, but I fought anyway. Took a little while, probably about a week, but eventually Lagann couldn't take it anymore and kicked me out of the cockpit. Let's just say that Spiral Energy and Self-Loathing don't mix."

"…So what happens now?" I asked.

"Well it's been about a week, so the next major event is finding Nia. I'll be heading out soon to pick her up." Simon replied. "Trust me, you'll like her. Oh, and before I forget, I'm having Gurren set up for you to pilot it."

Wait, what?

"Me? Really?"

"I may as well give you a front row seat to some of the bigger insanity we usually come across." Simon replied with a shrug. "Besides, Rossiu tends to become a bit of a jackass once things pick up after we beat Lordgenome, so I figure he can sit this one out. See how that changes things."

"…It can get crazier?" I asked, surprised. "Because frankly, riding in a giant mech that has a battleship for a crotch is already pretty weird."

"I know, but it's still home for the next couple of months. It can and will go nth degree crazy by the end of the Loop, it always does." Simon said, getting up and walking up to the window. "For example, you see the moon?"

Following him, I looked out the window and into the sky.

"Yeah, I see it. Why?"

"Well, seven years from now we'll be riding it through space. Then we turn it into another upgrade to Gurren Lagann."

What.

"…I'm sorry… what?"

-x-x-x-x-

"It's hard to believe that it's been seven years of peace since we fought Lordgenome." I said as I looked out over the crowd in front of me. "But it's not me who'll be making the announcement. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Supreme Commander Simon, of the Kamina City Government!"

I moved off to the side as Simon took his place at the podium.

"Thank you Penelope. Citizens of New Kamina City and citizens of Earth. In just seven short years, we will have reached one of the greatest Milestones in our history. From humble beginnings, we fought for the right to live on the surface, we defeated the Spiral King, we built this city, and most importantly, we brokered peace between Humanity and Beastman." Simon said, brimming with confidence. "Today is a momentous occasion. Today, we add one more accomplishment to that growing list. As we speak, brave men and women are taking those first steps towards a new era in our history. They will soon board the first Lunar Exploration Daigun, headed towards the Moon for a six month research mission. Join me as we wish for them to have a safe journey, and that when they arrive home in a little over six months, that they are happy and healthy."

At that point, Simon raised his hand into the air, pointing to the sky. The rest of us that were on stage joined in, and the crowd soon followed.

"To the Pioneers of the new era!"

-x-x-x-x-

"I have to say Simon, from the ruins of one gigantic Gunmen to a bustling city to manned spaceflight in seven years. That is some insane progress." I said, as those of us in the ruling council raised toasted the flight. "To the new era!"

Everyone raised their glasses. Well, everyone except for Rossiu.

"Something the matter Rossiu?" Simon asked.

"Come on man, today's a day to celebrate!" Kittan added, lowering his glass and taking a swig.

"I know, I know. I'm happy for what we've managed to do…" Rossiu replied, his voice shaking a little.

"I sense a 'but' coming up." I said, as I started to sip my drink.

"It's Lordgenome's warning. 'When the land overflows with a million apes, the moon shall become Hell's messenger and completely destroy the world of the spiral.'" He replied.

"Oh yeah. That." I replied, "What're the current population levels?"

"Well, including the people still in the villages, and upcoming births according to hospital records, we'll pass the one million mark by the end of the week." Rossiu replied.

"I see. Well, just to be safe then, keep a close watch on the Lunar mission. If anything happens, let me know immediately, Rossiu." Simon replied. "Personally, I don't think anything'll come of it, but it never hurts to have some preparations ready. We'll keep Gimmy and Darry on standby with a number of Grapearl Squadrons too, just in case."

"Alright Simon." Rossiu said, "I'd best check in with the mission. Enjoy the festivities everyone." He added as he turned and left the room, leaving the glass on the table, still full.

-x-x-x-x-

After the celebration ended, Simon and I had a chance to talk in private.

"So, that prophecy of Lordgenome's. It's true, isn't it?" I asked, getting straight to the point.

"Yep. If everything goes the same way it normally does, we'll be looking at about three days before everything goes to Hell. Since I'm giving you the baseline experience, I won't be using any cheats in the major events." Simon replied. "Is the Gurren ready to go?"

"Well, I left Gurren with Makken and Leite, and Lagann is normally your means of getting around the city nowadays, so if you need to combine the two, head to Leite's place." I replied.

"Alright then. Everything's set up for a near-Baseline run of these events." Simon said.

"Wait, is the fact you're running this Loop as close as possible to the baseline the reason Kamina died?" I asked, concerned. "Because that seems a little bit Sakura-y to me."

"Actually," Simon replied, "Even when he's Awake, Kamina has his fair share of deaths, as do most Loopers. It's just that he tends to push himself further after suffering a fatal injury, so a lot of the time we simply can't save him. I'll tell you this though. When he survives to the end of the Loop, that's quite the experience right there."

"I'll keep that in mind." I replied.

"Anyway, that matter aside; are you enjoying the Loop thus far?"

"Piloting a mech is something my UnAwake self normally does during her ultimate downfall, but when it comes to the Looping me, it's been far too long since I was in a cockpit, especially considering my Loop normally fits right into the gap between Lordgenome's defeat and today. Thanks for the Spiral Cannon and the spare Core Drill by the way. I've miniaturised the former and built it into my Gunmen."

"You have a Gunmen of your own now?" Simon asked, intrigued.

"I've been building one in my spare time." I replied, pulling up the images on Simon's computer.

"Let's see then." Simon said, looking at the screen.

"Well to start off, it's based on Lordgenome's old Lazengann unit, with a few design changes. For one, all of the previous drill holes were sealed, and I've added a handful of new ones, mainly on the arms, and along the tail, although there are a few in each knee and one in each foot so they can use drills for increasing damage from kicks." I said, walking him through the machine's design. "I've built the miniature Spiral Cannon into the palm of the right hand. Thanks to that, the Knight Baron has a decent long range attack to surprise an opponent with."

"Knight Baron?"

"That's its name. It combines my two main aliases from back home: the Black Baron, and the Black Knight. I went for a wolf-man motif on the upper face, while I've covered the lower face's eyes with a visor of sorts. Put it together with some of the new armour and the unit's torso looks like it's wearing a knight's helmet. Now, I don't really like my stint as the Black Knight since that's when I lost everything, but I had managed to build a pretty darn big mech using materials from the medieval period. That's no small feat."

"True, that is impressive."

"Now if only I could get it to fit into my Subspace Pocket."

"Still not big enough?" Simon asked.

"It's bigger than when I started, don't get me wrong, but I'm going to have to bust out some tech from the Transformers Branch to give me a boost." I replied.

I explained the mechanics of the subspace generator to him, making a point of stating that in a way I'd be getting the Pocket space in advance, then growing into it properly so that I wouldn't have to use it forever. As I'd expected, he'd been able to follow along.

"Well at least you have options. Anyway, it's been nice chatting with you Penelope, but I'm supposed to be meeting up with Nia in about 20 minutes, so I'd best be going." Simon said, checking his watch.

"Tonight's the big night, hmm?" I asked with a grin. "I'll not hold you up any longer. Best of Luck Simon."

"Thanks. See you later Penelope."

"See you later Simon." I replied, as we both left the room.

-x-x-x-x-

Three days later and the world went to hell, just as Simon had predicted. He took out the Gurren Lagann on his own to fight these weird Anti-Spiral mechs, which Gimmy had nicknamed Mugann.

Thanks to Simon giving me the 'Baseline experience' he wound up destroying a number of buildings in the city just by beating one Mugann. Boy they were unstable.

Well one thing led to another and Simon had been arrested and put on trial, and subsequently sentenced to death. Frankly the trial was a sham, as far as the majority of the team was concerned. Rossiu had lost it in the face of the Anti-Spiral attack and taken over the government. Hell, the way the trial was arranged was rigged against Simon. Rossiu had assigned Balinbow to be Simon's attorney, while the prosecutor for the case was one of Rossiu's top subordinates.

Thankfully, circumstances defied Rossiu's plans when there was a large scale Mugann attack near Littner.

"Rossiu, you've got to let me go! I'm the only one that can fight them right now!" Simon shouted.

"How can we be certain that you won't go rogue and flee while you have the chance?" Rossiu asked.

"You can set up some kind of insurance to keep me from running away!" Simon said, before turning to look at me. I nodded solemnly, realising what he intended to do. When he turned back to Rossiu, he sighed. "You can put a bomb in Gurren. If I try to run, then you can set them off. It'll take the Gurren Lagann out with me inside it, and I'll be killed in the blast."

"…Very well. We can arrange that." Rossiu replied, "You have one hour to get ready for launch. We'll set up Gurren's bombs in that time. You will be given your Core Drill immediately prior to launch, and you will return it to me upon your return."

"Fine. So long as the Mugann are stopped before they reach Kamina City, I'll accept those terms." Simon replied.

Why did Rossiu being reasonable make me nervous?

-x-x-x-x-

Well, first things first. Thank you Simon for the Spiral Cannon. Rigging up a set of weapons to allow the Grapearls to fight the Mugann went much easier than I'd originally thought, so that was a plus. Now if only Gurren Lagann hadn't been totalled beforehand, things would have gone easier.

Of course, that positive is nothing compared to the stunt that Rossiu and his cronies pulled on Simon just prior to take-off. Kinon volunteered to sit in the Gurren cockpit, _my_ cockpit, while Simon was fighting the Mugann. They knew he didn't like risking the death of his friends, so Kinon sitting in Gurren was the perfect plan to ensure that Simon came back.

So with Simon off to battle, I had to make sure that Gimmy and Darry's squads were outfitted with the new Anti-Spiral Countermeasures. Thankfully that was easy enough, although Rossiu's cronies triple checking my work wasn't helping. Since I was the go-to pilot for Gurren, Rossiu had me under armed surveillance to make sure I was 'playing nice'.

Seriously Yggdrasil, am I going to be a criminal wherever I go?

-x-x-x-x-

Turns out as soon as the countermeasures were completed, me and Simon weren't needed anymore. We were each thrown in prison and left in there to rot.

I don't know how Simon fared during this time, but it was times like this I wish I had an RC Car, or just something to tinker with to keep my hands busy. I couldn't really use my Pocket because I was still being watched night and day by a guard. I must be a special case, lucky me.

I must have been stuck in that prison for a little over a week, with everyone in there against me, so you can imagine my surprise when a Grapearl breaks through the wall to my cell.

I was even more surprised to see Kiyal in the cockpit.

"Hey Penelope! You up for a jailbreak?" She asked, grinning like a madwoman. I quickly ran towards her, the cockpit closing around us.

"I think my guard there would like it if I stayed, but screw her. Thanks Kiyal." I replied as Kiyal relinquished the pilot's seat to me. "So what's going on? Didn't get any news in there."

"Ok, first off, Rossiu's got this big big Dai-Gun, he's got all of Kamina City in there, except for a lot of members from Team Dai-Gurren." Kiyal explained, "Yoko's just busted Simon out, and he took Viral with them-"

"Wait, Viral? Recurring pain in the ass, that Viral?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah, no idea why. Yoko said to meet at Makken and Leite's place when I busted you out." Kiyal replied, "She says that it had to be me that came to get you because the rest of the team's getting an upgrade and they need to be there to help out."

"Well that explains things. To be honest, I expected Kittan to be part of the Jailbreak team." I replied. "I mean, the last time you piloted a Gunmen was seven years ago, wasn't it?"

"Actually, I've been helping Leite with unit testing." Kiyal replied. "It was good practice, now let's pick up the pace!"

"Roger!" I said with a grin, as we flew towards Makken and Leite's workshop.

-x-x-x-x-

When we arrived at the workshop, we were greeted by the bulk of Team Dai-Gurren's pilots. Dayakka, Aretenborough, and the other members of the Dai-Gurren bridge crew were on board Rossiu's Dai-Gun, the Arc-Gurren. Gimmy and Darry were likely on standby in their Grapearls, so it was mainly those of us that piloted Gunmen during the Teppelin War.

"Good to see the two of you back with the team!" Kittan said, tossing the Core Drill to Simon.

"It's a good thing that Kittan was on hand after the Gurren Lagann's last battle." Leite said with a smirk. "He got it sent here and told us to make it better than new."

She pressed a button, and to be honest, the Gurren Lagann looked better than before.

"Woop de doo. You apes have your symbol back."

I turned around to see Viral leaning against the doorframe. Kittan and the others recoiled.

"What's this guy doing here?" Kittan asked Simon.

"I decided to bring him with us." Simon said, "Penelope, your Gunmen's able to fight, isn't it?"

At that point, all eyes were on me. Thanks Simon.

"Thanks buddy, way to put me on the spot." I said, "But yeah, it's ready to go. I left it here for safekeeping."

"And it's right over there." Leite said, pointing at a covered Gunmen. "She's a real beaut, I tell ya."

"Well, since your Gunmen's ready to go, I was thinking of having Viral pilot the Gurren." Simon said.

"Say what now?" I replied, shocked.

"What the hell are ya saying Simon?!" Kittan shouted. "He fought for the Spiral King and tried to kill us! Multiple times!"

"As much as it pains me, I agree with the loudmouth." Viral agreed, while Kiyal, Jorgen and Balinbow tried to hold Kittan back. "I was your enemy, and yet you'd trust me with one of your best Gunmen? Don't tell me prison made you go soft in the head, Simon."

"On the contrary. We can't afford to go without you now. This isn't about humanity and beastmen anymore, it's about survival. This time, both races are on the same side, so I say we capitalise on that. You're a damn good pilot Viral, and frankly, it's a waste to not have you piloting something at a time like this. Besides, you were told to see humanity's fate for yourself, right? Well in the Gurren you'll have a front row seat."

"I hate to admit it," I added, "but Simon's right. I'll use my Gunmen, Viral can take the Gurren."

I walked over to the covered up Gunmen and pulled the sheet off, revealing the Knight Baron for all to see.

"Y-You built that?!" Kittan sputtered.

"Is that the Spiral King's Gunmen?" Viral asked, stunned.

"No, but it was based on the general body type. It'll take me a minute or two to run through my checks, so I'll be over here." I replied, reaching under the seat and pulling my Core Drill out of my Pocket. "Under the seat, right where I left it."

"It's got a Core Drill too?" Yoko asked.

"So Viral, what do you say?" Simon asked.

"Pilot the Gunmen that shamed me all those years ago?" Viral asked, "As crazy as it sounds, my body knows what it wants. You're on."

"Well you'd best be quick getting used to it." Simon asked, "this one packs a punch."

"You'd both best be careful." Leite said, interrupting the two. "We gave it a tune up while it was being repaired, so it's stronger than before too."

"Alright you guys, buckle the hell up!" Kittan shouted, "See that Moon up there? We're gonna go and stop that thing from crashin' into Earth! If that means we have to smash it to bits, then that's what we'll do! Ya hear me?!"

With a massive cheer from the team (myself included), everyone ran towards their respective Gunmen.

-x-x-x-x-

Once everyone was ready we all took off. The Gurren Lagann and Knight Baron had the ability to reach the Arc-Gurren relatively unassisted, while everyone else was attached to a Rocket-Gunmen and was rising right alongside us.

We arrived just in the nick of time too. From the sound of things, the situation wasn't good.

"No giving up yet, Rossiu!" Simon roared, blasting a ridiculously massive Mugann away from the already massive Arc-Gurren. If you wanted an idea on the size, Arc-Gurren was about the size of Teppelin, which was the centrepiece of Kamina City and the Spiral King's domain. This one Mugann make it look small by comparison.

So of course, Simon was able to blast it away. This Loop ran on the Rule of Cool.

"The cavalry's here!" I added, taking out a few of the smaller Mugann. Since the Knight Baron was based off of the Lazengann, I'd designed it to use the thinner drills that were more like whips.

"So keep on fightin'!" Kittan shouted, blasting some more, "As much as you quite frankly piss me off, you've got most of my family on board, so right now I'll fight alongside ya."

"The instant you give up, it's over." Simon said, "Remember? This drill is the drill that'll pierce the heavens! Viral!"

"Could be interesting." Viral chuckled, "Why not?"

"We embark on the winding Spiral Path, where the paths of man and beast intersect!" Simon shouted.

"Join with yesterday's foes to smash fate! We grab tomorrow's path with our own hands!" Viral added, as both then spoke together.

"Destiny combining! Gurren Lagann!"

"Let's do it guys!" I said, as we all joined in for the last line.

"JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE?"

-x-x-x-x-

Well… that happened.

You remember when Simon told me that after a point the group would be riding through space on a ship made out of the moon?

Yeah… he was serious.

To sum up what had happened in the battle, Simon and Viral merged the Gurren Lagan with the Arc-Gurren. The newly formed Arc-Gurren Lagan then proceeded to punch giant Mugann into _another plane of existence_ before eventually turning their attention to the falling moon, which turned out to be a disguise for Lordgenome's old flagship, the Cathedral Terra. Leaving it for me to pilot this new Gurren Lagan form (which, for the record, meant that I was piloting a Gunmen, that was piloting a bigger Gunmen), he entered the moon. Less than five minutes later, the moon not only stopped falling and had revealed the massive battleship inside. To give an idea of the size, it was still acting as the Moon while we were orbiting Earth.

But ultimately, we'd stopped the Human Annihilation System and saved the world, again. Now it was about a week or two later, we would soon be setting off to take the fight to the Anti-Spirals…

-x-x-x-x-

"Penelope, Leite, how do you like the Super Galaxy Dai-Gurren's facilities?" Simon asked over the intercom.

"To be honest Simon, this place is an engineer's dream!" I happily replied, "So much stuff to play with, this is incredible!"

"C'mon Penny, we're supposed to be getting Space Gunmen ready for everyone else, you included." Leite said, "Focus a little, will ya?"

"Sorry Leite, it's just a little overwhelming, that's all. I was used to a tech bay or a workshop, but this? This place is huge!"

"Well it's gotta be. We're building Space Gunmen, and those have to be cascade piloted." Leite replied with a grin. "Now let's get crackin'! We've got shit to build!"

"On my way!" I replied.

-x-x-x-x-

Later on, I was sat in my quarters, looking out the window.

"If Bentley could see me now. Gotta hand it to ya Yggdrasil, you've got some insane worlds out there, but I'd be lying if I said this hasn't been fun."

At that, the doorbell rang.

"It's open!" I called, as Simon walked in.

"Hey Penelope."

"Oh, hey Simon." I replied. "You were right. We're going to be flying through space, using what we knew as the moon for a ship. That's definitely something that'll make the guys back home jealous."

"Nothing like this back in your Loop?"

"Well, we do get to travel in time, but if it's a standard Loop, we never leave Earth." I said, "So, how long have we got left in the Loop?"

"If everything works out right, probably another month or so. We're in the home stretch now. By the way, after this next encounter with the Anti-Spirals, that's your best time to pocket your Gunmen." Simon said.

"Really? Seems a little soon, doesn't it?"

"Well, after this next battle, things reach the point where we're all essentially going to be piloting one gigantic Gunmen."

"We're really turning the ship into a Gunmen?" I asked.

"Yep."

"…The Laws of Physics must hate this Loop."

"Trust me. Just be thankful this doesn't appear to be a Movie Variant." Simon said, "Then our final Gurren Lagann form literally contains galaxies. Besides, it's not that the Laws of Physics hate us, but I bet that our Admin, whoever they are, must have a field day with us at the end of that particular type of Variant."

"I'm… not too fond of the Admin for my Loop, to be perfectly honest." I replied, lowering my voice a little.

Simon looked at me, puzzled.

"Bad experience during my initial Loops. Back home, I'm part of a group called the Cooper Gang. Our leader is the latest in a long line of master thieves known as the Cooper Clan." I said, thinking about it, I'd never really told Simon about myself before the Loops. Well, that was about to change. "In my baseline, I was convinced that the gang's leader was squandering both my potential and that of my friend. We were both the resident tech specialists, and we built a lot of stuff together, but we would never be seen as anything more than criminals, given our primary line of work, as well as lackeys, given the fact that we technically answered to someone else.

In the end, I betrayed them. I stole the plans for the time machine and sold them to an enemy of the Cooper Clan who had me build a second time machine. With the time machine ready to go, he recruited various criminals from across the world and left each of us in a different timeframe to deal with a different Cooper. There were six of us in this new group, which was named after the one running it all. We were the LeParadox Gang."

"LeParadox huh? Definitely sounds like a Time Travel villain." Simon replied. "So what happened then?"

"Once we were dropped off for our own respective jobs, we were allowed to do what we wanted, provided we dealt with that time's Cooper and took their weapon for LeParadox's collection. To fix the damage we caused, the Cooper Gang went back in time themselves, defeating each of us one by one. I first Awoke as a Looper about ten minutes before my final defeat. Too late to stop myself from betraying the Cooper Gang, too late to stop LeParadox's scheme before it started, too late to change sides at the eleventh hour. Then it happened again, and again, and again. Always just before my defeat, never enough time to change things. I went through that point in time over three hundred thousand times. It was only when I was well and truly broken that I Awakened in present day Holland."

"Penelope…" Simon replied.

"It's alright Simon." I sighed. "I'm Looping normally now, so everything's OK now. A number of scars, sure. But I'm working through them a little bit at a time."

"Well you've got friends in two Loops to call upon now." Simon said, placing his hand on my shoulder. "I'd best get going, we'll be good to go in a few days but after that, we'll be right back into the war. Make sure you're rested, OK? Leeron's normally on the bridge during combat situations, but you'll be right in the firing line with the rest of us."

"I'll give it my all. Count on it." I replied, "Oh, and before you go? Thanks for listening."

"Anytime. I'll see you later. Oh, and the signal to pocket your Gunmen is an ocean. When you see an ocean after we set off, that's your chance." He said, leaving the room and closing the door behind him. To be honest, I felt a bit better after explaining that to him.

Now though, I had to get my head in the game for all-out war.

-x-x-x-x-

A few days later, and we were about to set out for the Anti-Spiral Home world. Using Nia's engagement ring as a marker, all Simon had to do was picture it and the Super Galaxy Dai-Gurren's systems would take care of the rest.

"You know Darry; I don't really get this 'Perceptual Teleportation' thing." Gimmy said as he waited in his Grapearl's cockpit.

"I'm not too sure about how it works either Gimmy, but from what I could gather it works by transcending time and space using Nia and Simon's connection with one another as a guide." Darry replied. I was listening to them chat so I decided to fill them in.

"It's kind of like that. I'll run you through how it works." I said, "Think of the universe as a big 3D map. Simon's going to picture Nia's engagement ring and will the S.G. Dai-Gurren to head towards it. Since he'll be focusing on Nia's ring in particular, the ship will search for that one specifically. In essence, Simon's working to give us a distance for the journey and the right direction for us to travel in. From there, the S.G. Dai-Gurren's systems will kick in and teleport us towards it. Without the teleport, we could be traveling for years. With it though the journey should take a few minutes to complete."

"That's why we're in our Cockpits then?" Darry asked, "But why are you up there if you'll be fighting in your Gunmen?"

"To answer the first question, yeah, we'll likely be fighting Anti-Spirals pretty soon after we arrive. As for your second question, I'll going to be headed down to you guys in a few minutes. I'm just making some calibrations and then I'll be getting ready for battle myself."

"Well we'll see you when you get here, but can you hurry it up a little?" Gimmy asked, "It's boring as hell waiting like this."

"I can only go as fast as the systems can, it's taking a little time to get a coordinate lock." I replied.

A few minutes later, we were ready to go. I set the system to run from voice commands and headed down to the Launch Bay.

' _We're coming Nia.'_ I thought. That was probably something going through everyone's minds at the moment.

"Space Knight Baron ready to go! Whenever you're ready Simon!"

"Thanks Penelope." Simon replied before opening a comm channel. "Everyone, we're about to make the jump into Anti Spiral Space. The Anti-Spiral has taken one of our friends, and I trust that you'll agree when I say that we'll go through hell to get her back if we have to. This isn't going to be easy though. If you all remember the last battle at Teppelin, then remember this: Lordgenome was crushed by the Anti-Spiral. It's up to us to surpass him and to show them just what we Earthlings are truly capable of! So what're we waiting for? Let's go rescue our comrade!"

It's possible that the resulting cheer could be heard across the entire ship.

"Super Galaxy Dai-Gurren, beginning Perceptual Teleportation!" Simon declared, as the engines roared into life.

Then everything went white for a moment, and when we could see again, the area we'd ended up in could really only be described as beautiful.

Then I saw the giant naked Nia being slowly disintegrated.

"Oh. Simon, care to try again?" I asked.

"Probably no point to it." Simon replied over the Comm. "According to Lordgenome; that Nia is messing with the Perceptual Teleportation. We try jumping again; we're just as likely to end up right back here."

"So what're we waiting for?" Kittan shouted. "Let's do something to help us get moving!"

 _ **Foolish people of the Spiral.**_

"What the hell?" Viral asked, as everyone tried to find the one who was speaking.

"Who's there?" Simon asked.

"Anti-Spiral." Lordgenome explained.

"Where is the voice coming from?" I asked. It was one of the newer members, Cybela, who answered.

"It seems to be coming from every direction."

"How can they do that?" I asked.

"It is a small feat for them." Lordgenome replied. "Our universe is ever expanding and remains infinitely malleable. The Anti-Spiral are in full control of the entire process."

"But that means-"

"Yes. It would not be inaccurate to say the the entire universe is our enemy." He finished.

There was a tense silence in response to that statement.

"We're up against the entire universe?" I asked, suddenly feeling extremely small.

 _ **Exactly. You cling to the faintest slivers of hope, climbing up time and again from the precipice of despair. That is true foolishness, and it is time for that cycle to come to an end.**_

Watching from my screen in the Knight Baron, I then saw two rifts open up in front of the ship.

 _ **Your last flicker of hope will die when this girl vanishes.**_

Of course. If this is an image of the real Nia, then Nia must be breaking apart in the same way. If she breaks down completely and vanishes once and for all, then we'd have no way to find where the Anti-Spiral was hiding.

Having realised that, I couldn't help but fear for Nia even more.

The two rifts opened wider, and two vessels, far larger than the S.G. Dai Gurren, emerged from them.

 _ **This is the despair of your race given physical form, and it will annihilate you.**_

"Well that's good for us. We don't know the meaning of despair." Simon replied. "Aretenborough!"

"Oh yeah! You got it!" was the response from the team's resident muppet, as he smashed his controls. Must have worked too, because literally every gun and missile pod on the ship fired in one ungodly salvo.

Sadly, as cool as it looked, every single shot was met by a barrier that allowed the Anti-Spiral ships to completely ignore the barrage.

"That is one tough shield." Kittan said.

"You don't know the half of it Kittan," I replied, "If I had to make a comparison, comparing the shields on those ships with the ones on a standard Mugann would be like a thick sheet of steel compared to a piece of toilet paper."

"Then there's only one thing to do." Simon replied. "Viral, we're up!"

"Alright." He replied, as the two teleported to the platform in front of their unit.

"OK you bozos listen up!" Kittan shouted, "It's time for one last brawl! I don't wanna see anyone holding anything back, ya hear me?"

We all voiced our agreement and every single available Gunmen was launched.

The last skirmish with the Anti-Spiral had begun.

-x-x-x-x-

Wha… That was… How the hell does Simon do this every Loop?!

To sum up how things went, we were kicking all kinds of ass for the first 10 minutes or so. The Anti-Spiral fighters were really slow and went down real easy, and while they had a stupidly high numbers advantage, we had quality over their quantity.

Or so we thought.

Since the Space Knight Baron and the Arc Gurren Lagann were having difficulty piercing through the shields on the carrier ships, Simon and Viral returned to the S.G Dai-Gurren to provide the Spiral Energy needed for transforming the ship into its humanoid mode.

That was when the Anti-Spiral units suddenly turned things around and wrought all kinds of hell. From huge missiles being teleported towards our ship, to the smaller fighters swiftly taking out all but Gimmy and Darry's Grapearls, as well as a few of our more veteran members.

Jorgen, Ballinbow, Kid, Iraak, Makken, Zorthy… I can't believe that you're gone.

That left us with a whopping seven Gunmen Pilots, the head of Lordgenome, Dayakka, Leite, and the bridge crew. All in all, we were probably barely at 14 to 15 people and only four Space Gunmen… well… actually more like three and a half. My Space Knight Baron wound up losing both legs during the retreat.

Of course, there was also the fact that the S.G Dai-Gurren was being dragged into what could only be described as a Space Ocean of Despair, one that was gradually absorbing any and all Spiral Energy that was being put into the ship's engines. That being said, I realised that this was what Simon had meant by the right chance, and did take advantage of the opportunity to pocket the regular size Knight Baron at the very least, thanks to the subspace generator I had, so I was at least taking a souvenir with me.

This was an uphill struggle, and I had no idea what would happen next…

-x-x-x-x-

This Loop was fun, once! Why'd it suddenly go to hell like this?

Kittan… DAMMIT!

-x-x-x-x-

Ok… so I'm back on the bridge, and dear lord this Super Galaxy Gurren Lagann is ridiculous! Seriously, every point in time and space at once?

How are we not in Eiken?

It doesn't matter now though. Don't worry Nia, we're coming…

-x-x-x-x-

Another day, another struggle with this damn Time Machine.

Seriously, me and Bentley can get a time warp going, that much is clear, but for some reason it just won't stabilize.

Although this was a pretty calm Variant. For one, it was a Stealth Anchor Loop, so Sly wasn't Awake this time around (It feels so strange.) The other major difference though when this Loop is compared to the baseline: No Clockwerk. He simply never existed in the first place here.

So while it meant that Sly was out thieving with his siblings (A pair of younger sisters), that left me and Bentley as the two active Loopers in this iteration.

"I've gotta say Penelope, this 'Gunmen' that you mentioned sounds positively fascinating. How'd you fit it in your Pocket?" Bentley asked as I adjusted the controls a little.

"Subspace Generator. Got it that one time we Looped in as Maximals." I said as I saw the problem. It was… a Core Drill? "Funny, this Loop's a Baseline Abilities only one isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is. Why?" Bentley asked.

"Because I've just found this in the controls. It should be in my Pocket, but-"

"Penelope? You aren't holding anything." Bentley interrupted.

Something was wrong.

"So, you're catching on now, aren't you?"

I hadn't heard that voice in a long time. As I turned around, there was a raccoon dressed up like Kamina, glasses and all.

"Kamina? You're here?"

"Yep. So this is your Loop, huh? Got to say, I didn't think you were normally a mouse." Kamina replied.

"You're Awake? But, you weren't when you died." I said,

"You're half right. I wasn't, at least I wasn't before Thymilph's spear went right through me. I tell ya, it really does suck to start of a Loop from the point where you're impaled on a spear."

I cringed at that thought.

"Turns out I had just long enough to process the Loop Memories before I needed to deal the finishing blow, so I could tell that you were Awake, since I got two Pings and one of them was Simon. But we don't have much time so I'll make things quick. Right now, you're still on the Super Galaxy Gurren Lagann."

"But that doesn't make sense!" I replied. I looked around, but Bentley had disappeared for some reason. "The Loop ended, and I ended up here."

"That's because the Anti-Spirals use some weird dream world maze-type thing. Sometimes for a Looper it makes things seem like that given Loop ended. Simon's gone through it enough times to catch on and break the illusion rather quickly, but for those that aren't used to it, that's where I come in. My last act during a Loop where I die is to give you guys a helping hand to get yourselves out of this place and back to the battle." Kamina explained, pointing to the Core Drill. "That right there is your ticket out of here."

"But I don't know what to do with this to break the spell."

"They've managed it." Kamina said, gesturing to the window behind him. I walked over a looked out of it, and there was a line of green shooting stars in the sky. The Core Drill in my hand pulsed, and a green light began to surround me. "Ya just have to will yourself back there. Simple as that."

"Will myself back, huh?" I replied, smiling. "Well that's something I can do. Hope to meet you again sometime Kamina."

"Same here, Penelope. See you around."

As we bid farewell to each other, the light completely covered me and I took off into the sky.

Time to finish this once and for all.

-x-x-x-x-

"I've come, Nia. Just like I promised." Simon said as he was reunited his fiancé.

It was at that point that the rest of us arrived on the scene, taking our positions for maximum effect. It was a little weird having your legs surrounded by a drill, but we should be there for much longer.

 _ **Impossible! No intelligent life forms can escape the Alternate Reality Labyrinth!**_

"Well you should never underestimate us!" Simon shouted. "Whether it's time, space, or other realities, that kind of obstacle means nothing to us. We'll pierce through the methods you choose and form our own path! That's who we are, Team Dai-Gurren!"

We shot into the air and rocketed towards the Gurren Lagann, which had shifted into its Arc Form and then its Super Galaxy form. As our drills flew towards the Super Galaxy Gurren Lagann, everything went white for a moment. Once everything had cleared, I was sat in a Lagann cockpit.

It was then that I heard Nia.

"Even if we were to be enslaved by the galaxy's cycle of rebirth…"

"The feelings that were left behind will open the door!" Yoko added. My turn.

"Even if the infinite universe was to go against us…"

"Our burning blood will cut through fate!" Viral finished.

"We'll break through the heavens and any dimensions that stand in our way!" Simon called, as every one of us joined in the next part.

 **"** **WE'LL SHOW YOU OUR PATH THROUGH FORCE!"**

"Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann!" Simon declared.

 **"JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE!"**

-x-x-x-x-

To say the battle was intense would be doing it an injustice. We'd each gotten a chance to shine during that battle, from Aretenborough getting to use PROBABILITY-ALTERING MISSILES and Yoko's sharpshooting, to Viral's swordplay and my drill-whips. The Anti-Spiral King ended up throwing a Big Bang at us and we practically ate it, thanks to Lordgenome sacrificing himself. As much as I hated losing team members in this Loop, we all knew the body was temporary at best, so he did what he could and went down a hero.

Hell, even the ending to this brawl was insane. The Tengen Toppa was trashed so the Super Galaxy emerged and charged towards the Anti-Spiral King. When it went down, it spat out the Arc, which let the original Gurren Lagann out when it went down, and even then, Viral had to throw the Lagann to get Simon to the Anti-Spiral King.

When it all ended though, we returned to normal space, everyone safely sat within an inactive Lagann. Minutes later we were rescued, and we returned to Earth victorious.

Simon and Nia's wedding was frankly just plain beautiful. After all, we had crossed the universe just so we could rescue her, so seeing the two of them actually getting to have their wedding was a real treat.

Sadly, a couple of days later, Nia passed away, her body had taken too much damage from being deciphered by the Anti-Spiral, so she was already growing weaker once she walked down the aisle. According to Simon, it was better than the baseline version, where it broke down at the altar. This time though she was able to pass on peacefully, surrounded by the remaining members of the team, while we all helped her to leave this world with a smile on her face.

-x-x-x-x-

The next day, Simon and I were sat in his home, sharing one last drink before the end of the Loop.

"So how long do we have until the end?" I asked; my Core Drill now sat around my neck.

"It varies, but when Nia's not Awake for a Loop, her death is the last major event, so it's probably about a week at most before we part ways." Simon replied. "So tell me, what did you think of the whole adventure?"

"Well now that I know what to expect, it'll be fun to see how we can change things around next time." I replied, "But I'm going to say this right out. This. Loop. Is. Insane."

"Well once you live it enough times, you get used to some of the oddities. Heck, Kamina can't keep himself from derailing most Loops when he's Awake. I tell ya, Lordgenome's face is priceless when Kamina whips out an Arc Gurren Lagann to fight Teppelin, and that's the tip of the iceberg."

"Seeing something like that would be pretty epic. By the way, if you meet another Looper from my home-Loop, a guy that calls himself 'The Murray', be ready for a lot of repair time. The guy's insurance premiums are so big back home he had to switch from normal racing to Demolition Derby, which he's undefeated in, by the way."

"Sounds like he'd really get along with the team. " Simon said. "Anyway, I'd best be getting ready to go. I normally end a baseline Loop heading out to fulfil Nia's dream. A world full of flowers."

"Sounds nice." I said, "I hope everything goes well for you."

We finished our drinks and said goodbye to one another. Three days after Simon left Kamina City, the Loop came to an end and I was back in Holland, a mouse once again.

-x-x-x-x-

"So, did the guy I replaced join the gang while I was away?" I asked Bentley after we'd met up. I'd taken to wearing my Core Drill around the hideout. It looked good on me.

"Yes, and he creeped me out." Bentley replied, "You know how you and me got together in the baseline?"

"Yes, but I'd like to hope that we're together in the Loops." I replied.

"Well he kept flirting with me the entire Loop." Bentley explained, "Only when it got to the showdown with Lefwee, he told me that he was just messing with me. Explains why Sly tried to stop himself from cracking up whenever Leeron started flirting though. Sly was in on the prank."

I couldn't help but giggle at that.

"Anyway Bentley, you should see what I built during that Loop. Let's find somewhere remote so I can show you…"

* * *

6.1 – Bitches love tanks.

6.2 – Instrumentality is like, it's like, not good man. It's like… dude, I can taste music dude.

6.3 – S.O.S Brigade reporting for duty. All hands on deck and wide Awake.

6.4 – Team Cooper, meet Team Dai-Gurren


	7. Chapter 7

7.1 – (Me)

[Kill la Kill]

Peering down from where he was draped from his hanger, Senketsu observed his wearer and friend as she tinkered with her Seki Tekkō. "Ryūko, what are you doing?"

"Huh? Oh, hey Senketsu. I didn't know you were still up. I'm getting really tired of not knowing when you're going to be Awake, so I'm trying something I learned from one of the Equestrian Loopers."

Senketsu shifted slightly to get a better look, but in the darkness of their room at the Mankanshoku Clinic he couldn't make out any details. "...So what is it?"

Ryūko smirked and pulled her glove on, before showing it to him. "This is an Intelligent Device. Or at least it will be when its done. The cool thing about it is that its Soul-Bound, so no matter what its always with me. What I wanna do is set it up so that you and me Loop together."

Senketsu began to tear up, but forced his emotions back. "How?"

"Well since you're made of Life Fibers I'm gonna have this absorb you at the end of the Loop."

"WAIT WHAT?" Senketsu recoiled in horror as he stared at his friend, who apparently wanted to feed him to her glove.

"Hey! Senketsu! Calm down, it'll be fine! Once the Seki Tekkō absorbs you you'll become a part of it and it should let you stick with me no matter what. It'll work, I know it. I spent the last few Loops studying with Dad. I'm also going to add a Henshin mode that I picked up in the Kamin Rider Loops."

"Are-are you sure its safe?"

Ryūko nodded confidently. "No problem. And if it doesn't you can beat me up the next time you're Awake, deal?"

Senketsu considered this. On the one hand, he really didn't want to find out what it felt like to have his Life Fibers absorbed. But on the other, he had seen how withdrawn Ryūko tended to get after a string of Loops with no one else Awake. It would be nice to be able to help his first friend.

"...Alright. But if this doesn't work, you agree to leave it alone until you get someone to help you with it."

"You got it."

Huddled under his blankets, Matarō opened one of his eyes. "Hey sis, she's talking to her uniform again!" he protested in a whisper.

Without opening her own eyes Mako smiled as she responded. "Its fine."

* * *

7.2 - (KrisOverstreet)

Haruhi Suzumiya/[Star Wars]

That Loop there were more pings than I could account for. Yuki, Asahina, and Koizumi all sent text messages. Haruhi, being even more energetic than any of them, actually called one minute after the usual 4:38 AM start of the Loop and spent over an hour blathering about the prospect of visiting Loopers. For the first time the SOS Brigade was going to play host to people from a whole other universe. I said maybe fifty words total in that whole conversation, all variants on Please let me sleep. Of course Haruhi disregarded them all.

Sure enough, there was a new faculty member on the stage during the first assembly of the school year. I was too far back to recognize him, but the light brown hair and thick beard marked him as a Westerner, probably an American of some sort.

Then we reported to our homeroom classes, where one of the minor annoyances of my life, Taniguchi failed to appear. In his desk at the front of the row sat another Westerner, bright blond hair trimmed to a buzzcut except for a tiny braided lock dangling from his right temple.

"From Cibola High School, Yuma, Arizona, in the United States, Anakin Skywalker," he said when it came his turn to stand.

I couldn't suppress a grunt. My Loop memories said nothing about Star Wars this time around, but in baseline I'd seen all the movies, even the bad ones, at least once. If you were a child on Earth at that time, you knew about Star Wars.

Behind me I heard Haruhi gasp. I didn't need to turn and look; I already knew what the wide-eyed excited smile on Haruhi's face looked like. I'd learned to dread it. And now, so would someone else.

"My interests are swordfighting and repairing things. I'm looking forward to a quiet three years to learn and expand my horizons in your beautiful country. Thank you."

A moment later it came my turn to speak, and as usual I gave my proper name. "My friends, despite my wishes, insist on calling me Kyon. My main interest is in keeping my sanity in the coming three years, despite the efforts of the girl behind me. If you are an alien, time traveler, or esper, give up hope now, because she will find you."

"Kyon! Don't say idiotic things like that!"

I don't fight the inevitable, but there's nothing that says I can't give others fair warning.

"Hmph!" As I sat down, Haruhi stood up. "From East Middle School, Haruhi Suzumiya. I have no interest in ordinary humans. For extraordinary humans I plan to form a club to seek out the mysteries of the universe and have fun with them! I'm especially seeking out quiet intelligent types, people who feel emotions deeply, and mysterious transfer students! Especially people who are all three!"

Skywalker turned in his seat to look back at Haruhi. To his credit, he was the last student in the class besides me who wasn't staring in complete shock at Haruhi. On the other hand, his face was definitely the most disbelieving.

I clapped my hands twice and sent up a silent prayer. Rest in peace, Anakin Skywalker. Your life ended the moment you were seen by Haruhi Suzumiya...

For once the first lunch bell of the Loop did not coincide with Haruhi's freakishly strong grip on my arm and a pell-mell rush down the hallway towards the old school building and the club rooms. Instead she left me to trail along behind as she tried to haul Skywalker out the classroom door and along the usual path.

"Hey! Leggo! What are you doing?"

Did I look that surprised and disoriented the first time Haruhi Suzumiya, frustrated with not finding an extraordinary club in the school, took the notion to make her own? Was I that helpless? Did the other students, even that creepy Asakura, give me the same pitying looks?

Only a handful of other students were in the hallway of the main building, and all of them had vanished by the time we got to the walkway to the old building. Skywalker didn't stop protesting the entire way.

"Why are you doing this? HOW are you doing this? I'm thirty centimeters taller than you at least!"

Up the stairs they went, with me following along behind.

"Look, if you don't cut it out I'm going to start getting upset! Bad things happen when I get up set! There are whole planets that can tell you how that ends up!"

Haruhi never answered, never said a word, just kept leading on until we came to the door of the literature club. Haruhi grabbed the knob, opened the door, and practically hurled Skywalker inside, dashing in behind him and leaving me to close the door behind me. It was that simple. But then, for Haruhi the impossible was always simple. It was the simple things that she found impossible.

Nagato, the ever-present sole member of the literature club, looked up from her book. I could just see the title: _The Hero of a Thousand Faces_ by Joseph Campbell. Somehow she had known. Sitting in another corner, Asahina, the adorable, helpless second-year student, squirmed in another folding chair. "Ah, my older self- ahh!" Her eyes widened as she realized Haruhi wasn't the first person through the door. "Kyon-kun, who is this?"

Just as Skywalker was recovering his balance, Haruhi stood next to him and gestured in much the same way a game show hostess might point at some wonderful prize. "Starting from this day, Darth Vader is a member of the SOS Brigade!" she proclaimed.

"Whaaaaat?" Anakin Skywalker's eyes bulged. "What the hell are you talking about? Aren't you even going to ask?"

Save your breath. Nobody joins the SOS Brigade. We all get drafted.

"Ah, who's Darth Vader?" Asahina didn't seem to understand. Apparently the Star Wars movies hadn't survived until whatever future year she came from. I need to find some way to get her to a movie theater without Suzumiya thinking it's a date or anything like that. Or maybe I can talk her into making it a brigade activity.

"I prefer the name Anakin Skywalker," the Looping exchange student said firmly. "And if I join any club it's going to be the kendo club, just so I can spend every afternoon yanking Ben Kenobi's chain."

"Obi-Wan's here too?" Haruhi gasped.

"Science teacher," Nagato murmured, returning her attention to her book. "Homeroom 1-9."

"So Koizumi will have him for homeroom when he transfers! Excellent!" Haruhi began pacing up and down the club room. "Finally, a loop where we'll have a friendly faculty member to sponsor the SOS Brigade! This time we'll make the administration recognize us as a legitimate club! No more looking down on-" She stopped as she noticed Skywalker's hand on the doorknob. "Where are you going? I didn't say you could leave!"

"I told you, I'm not doing this," Skywalker insisted. "You're really beginning to annoy me. So unless you give me a good reason to-"

One moment Haruhi's hand was empty. The next it had a thing about as long as a Setsubun lucky sushi roll in her hand. Her thumb moved, and it hissed. A bright red bar of light extended from it.

Despite the added light source, the end of the room where Anakin stood suddenly seemed a little darker. "Where did you get that?" he growled.

That's enough of that. Someone has to stop this from getting any worse. The club room might get damaged, and then where will Asahina brew her tea?

"But it's just starting to get fun!" Haruhi protested huffily.

Remember the movie, Haruhi. There are limits, and you're about to hit them.

"Why do I keep you around, anyway?"

To lift your heavy bags, to clean up after your messes, and to apologize for you when you're being a monster, I didn't say. From the look in her eyes, though, she heard it all the same.

"Whatever!" she snapped. "Kyon, take our new member and explain the SOS Brigade to him. The rest of us need to make plans!"

Good grief. Well, whatever. You owe us each a lunch for this.

"Since when does the brigade chief pay penalties?"

Since the brigade chief is hosting guests. Or had you forgotten courtesy?

"Oh." Finally, at long last, something got through her enthusiasm. "Well." Getting through her pride was another matter. Anyone expecting an apology from her would have better luck waiting for Mt. Fuji to walk into the Inland Sea. "If I do make you lunches, it'll be because I felt like it, that's all! Now go straighten our new member out!"

"What is with her?" Skywalker asked as I closed the clubroom door behind us. "Is she insane or something?"

Oh, where to begin with a question like that? First, it's obvious we know about your home world.

"No kidding. I've met other Looper fans of mine. They tend not to be so demanding." Skywalker hesitated a moment before adding, "Well, the non-creepy ones, anyway. And where did she get that lightsaber? She didn't pull it from a subspace pocket. I could feel the Force change suddenly when it appeared. It was like the world changed to include that lightsaber."

Well, that'll save some explanations.

"What? How?"

Or maybe not. It'd help if you'd ever visited Japan before in your Loops.

"I did. I had a wonderfully relaxing Loop here some time ago as a tourist. Saw all the sights, spent a lot of time in temples. It was very refreshing."

Oh? Did you ever go into the manga shops, then?

"Only once or twice. I wanted to see what your manga artists did with my world's stories."

That, and nothing else?

"Well... and to try out some new giant robot mangas I hadn't heard of before. Does the SOS Brigade have a giant robot?"

I had the horrible thought of the SOS Brigade piloting GoLion or something and shuddered. Haruhi in command of a giant robot team is something which should never happen. Of course, this being Haruhi and these being the Loops, it's probably inevitable.

Anyway, forget mangas for now, or light novels, or anime or radio plays or anything like that. Let's just stick to here and now. The world didn't change to create that lightsaber. Haruhi changed the world to do it.

"What?"

I explained, there in the empty hallway with as few words as possible, the original baseline run of our world: Haruhi Suzumiya as an unconscious god-or-something, Nagato, Asahina and the yet-to-appear Koizumi as representatives of various supernatural factions- yes, an alien, a time traveler, and an esper- sent to observe Suzumiya- and myself, an innocent student swept up in the insanity. I didn't mention other agents from those factions- especially not Asakura. Let him find out about her for himself.

"So Haruhi's a reality warper, but she doesn't know it? Then how did she create that lightsaber?"

Baseline Haruhi doesn't know, and the rest of the Brigade works hard to keep her from finding out. But the Loops made that impossible the first time Haruhi visited a world where ours was published fiction- like your prior trip to Japan. So now she knows, and she has partial control over it.

"That's... disturbing." Skywalker leaned against the hallway wall and kicked one heel against his other toe. "How powerful are we talking about, exactly? Closer to Discord or Q?"

Our Admin says her subconscious managed to activate our Loop from the inside.

"That's impossible."

It is now, or so I'm told.

"How could your Loop survive?"

As far as I can tell, because she really wants it to survive. The only reason she doesn't Ascend right now is, she doesn't think it would be any fun.

"Yeaaah, no. I'm not buying any of this." Skywalker pushed himself away from the wall. "And I'm not playing along with it, either. If you think it's your job to keep a spoiled baby god entertained, fine, but leave me out of it. My home Loop is irritating enough, and I intend to enjoy this vacation, all right?"

Believe me, I wish you could.

I watched him walk way, thinking that the only thing Skywalker's resistance would do is wear his nerves out even faster. Once Haruhi really makes up her mind, one way or another, what she wants happens…

-x-x-x-x-

It took about a month for Koizumi to arrange to transfer to North High this time. That was a bit slower than usual for him when Awake; usually the Agency could arrange it in a matter of days. Koizumi offered a detailed explanation, but I didn't want to hear it, and thankfully neither did Haruhi. That's one thing we agree on; neither of us wants any more to do with bureaucracy than we have to, even second-hand. Anyway, that delay was probably half the reason her campaign to forcibly recruit Anakin Skywalker into the SOS Brigade didn't begin immediately.

The other half of her delay came because of her first-day introduction. Despite her reputation from middle school, and despite her complete lack of interest in what other people thought of her, Haruhi still drew people like a magnet. By the end of the second day of classes everyone had heard through her former schoolmates that she was a genuine genius, both academic and athletic, the One and Only. Even as eccentric as she was, people still wanted to be around her at that point, either to recruit her into their own "strange and interesting" clubs, or simply to be part of the group of "intelligent and sensitive" people Haruhi had said, on that first day, she wanted to seek out.

It took, coincidentally, about a month for North High, as a whole, to give up on Haruhi and to file her as hopelessly insane. Even then there were exceptions. Ryoko Asakura, of all people, defended Haruhi as an exceptional human being who would, one day, accomplish great things. (When other students tried to petition Haruhi to take her into the SOS Brigade she withdrew herself, saying, "I'm not the person Suzumiya is looking for." Touching, how well Asakura obeys orders from the Data Overmind.) Taniguchi, by whining to anybody and everybody about Haruhi's revolving-door dating scene in middle school, actually made people feel a bit sorry for her. (Take your medicine, Mr. Five Minute Man.) And the computer club didn't have to be blackmailed this time- they actually volunteered a computer to the literary club and, to a man, pledged their loyalty to the SOS Brigade. (I managed to talk Haruhi into accepting, not that anyone appreciated the effort.)

Come to think of it, I think Koizumi mentioned the unusual number of closed-space incidents as being a reason for his delay. Considering how annoyed Haruhi was by all the interruptions, I wouldn't be a bit surprised. Work hard, Koizumi, because every self-important social climber in North High who bugs Haruhi is another Celestial for you and your esper friends to defeat.

Eventually Haruhi had managed to arrange the SOS Brigade to her satisfaction- Nagato's one-member literature club, the computer society, and a few people like Tsuruya and Kunikida who Haruhi just couldn't justify blocking from membership. She made it clear the SOS Brigade had an inner circle- the five of us from baseline, of course- and that even I, "Brigade Leader's Flunky #1," was owed obedience and loyalty from all members not part of the inner circle. When Koizumi arrived, and when Haruhi dropped him into his pre-reserved title of first lieutenant, the outer circle didn't even blink. Haruhi was Haruhi, and you either liked it or you didn't.

As I said, that took about a month. Golden Week was behind us by the time Haruhi dragged a large footlocker into the club room and declared, "Today we're taking back our own from the kendo club!"

The pronouncement brought half a minute of guffaws from Tsuruya. While most of the outer circle didn't have a clue what she was talking about, Tsuruya... well, she's a genius. She hadn't been there to see Skywalker get dragged out of classroom 1-5 at lunchtime on the first day, but she'd heard, and she'd remembered. She's almost as much a genius as Haruhi, though she acts silly enough that sometimes you forget. "So Haru-nyan's going after Anakins, is she?" she grinned. "Do we get to watch? Sounds like it'll be lots of fun, nyoro!"

(Tsuruya only talks that childishly when she's really amused... which means she does it quite a lot, come to think of it. Tsuruya in any Loop is a carefree, happy girl.)

Haruhi didn't answer Tsuruya at first. She pulled out one bundle of clothing after another from the footlocker and tossed them at us- me first, then Nagato, then Asahina, then Koizumi. The last bundle she kept for herself- a rainbow-splattered SOS Brigade keiko-gi with matching hakama. My bundle turned out to be the same, as did Nagato's. Asahina, on the other hand, got what was basically a geisha outfit, and Koizumi the elaborate robes of a feudal lord or Imperial courtier.

"Girls dress in here, boys in the computer room!" Haruhi decreed. "Tsuruya, we'll need your help in getting Asahina's kimono on." When the outer-circle members just stood and stared, she added, "We're challenging the kendo club to a duel! We have to dress the part, right? So if you're not helping dress, get out!"

Most of the outer-circle members scattered, but half of them- including the computer society president- returned wearing oendan jackets. As if is was a sports day event! So, is the SOS Brigade the white team, and the kendo club the red? (The computer society president had added a hachimaki head-wrap. It reminded me that I needed to remind Haruhi that she hadn't "created" the SOS Brigade logo yet this Loop. The president, the walking talking billboard for Stockholm syndrome this Loop, would doubtless have had a happi made with the logo instead of his family crest...)

Koizumi knew his way around his formal wear, so he and I were waiting in the hall when the three girls emerged. Nagato had supplemented her keiko-gi with a belt of hanafuda. Did Yuki feel like a warrior priestess? I didn't ask, but as the SOS Brigade marched for the gym where the kendo club was practicing, we of the inner circle clustered together, allowing me to whisper, "I don't know the first thing about swordfighting!"

"I still can't believe you were too lazy to learn in that Warring States Loop!" Haruhi whispered back severely.

I'd been a minor court lackey that Loop, not entitled to carry the sword and even less interested in trying. But for Haruhi that was no excuse.

"Lucky for you Yuki's Awake," she whispered. "She's going to do the baseball bat trick with a practice-sword. That should be enough for you to at least make a good showing."

"Adaptive homing mode," Nagato agreed.

I never even thought of trying to stop the parade. The best way to deal with Haruhi, even an Awake one who knows about her own power, is to avoid direct confrontation as much as possible. Try to stand like a brick wall, and you'll find out what it's like to meet a wrecking ball swung from a Sherman tank.

I confess it was entertaining to see the sparring matches come to an end as the SOS Brigade filed into the kendo club's dojo. Even through the armor and masks anybody could see the confusion and surprise of the members... well, all but two. The faculty sponsor, Mr. Kenobi, and our designated target, Anakin Skywalker, had been watching the door when we stepped through it. It's hard to surprise people who come from a galaxy far, far away.

Haruhi didn't spare a glance for the dumbfounded kendo club members. While the inner circle followed her and the outer circle spread around the edge of the room, she shouted, "The SOS Brigade hereby challenges the Kendo Club for the membership of Anakin Skywalker!"

"What? Don't I get a say in this?" Skywalker asked. His voice was light, but those eyes, even flickering at me for half a second, drilled straight through.

"Of course not!" Haruhi retorted. "Your rightful place is with the SOS Brigade, and I'm not going to let the kendo club waste any more of your time!"

Those piercing eyes narrowed. Afterwards, comparing notes with Kenobi, I learned that Skywalker had a lot of hot-button issues, and right at the top of the list was treating people as property. Haruhi didn't know it, but she'd just made sure that he'd never join the SOS Brigade voluntarily.

"Miss Suzumiya," Kenobi said quietly, "the kendo club does not barter its members like used comic books. Your presence disturbs the peace of this dojo. Please take your followers and depart."

Well said. I concurred one hundred percent, especially since it would save me some lumps from one or another of the kendo club, "adaptive homing mode" or not.

"So the kendo club turns its back on a duel of honor?" Haruhi retorted.

Kenobi would probably have done just that, given his preferences. So would Skywalker, no matter how much he personally wanted to wipe Haruhi's self-confident grin from her face. But the rest of the club looked... uncertain. Uncomfortable.

And then one still in full armor stepped forward, raising her face mask to say, "What are your terms?"

It was Asakura. Of course the knife-obsessed alien would be part of the kendo club.

"Best two of three matches," Haruhi replied. "Each match, best two out of three strikes. Itsuki Koizumi and any two kendo club members to judge."

Asakura smiled that vicious little smile that never failed to terrify me. "For my part, those terms are acceptable," she said. "I claim the honor of the first match."

Nagato took a shinai from the rack. "I shall be your opponent," she said.

"It seems foreordained," Asakura said, her smile becoming a bit less vicious and more... wistful? Asakura knew about the Loops through the Data Overmind, which shared all Nagato's memories from prior Loops. She also knew how she ended up- deactivated, put "on standby mode" by the Data Overmind, essentially ceasing to exist until needed for special tasks... always by Nagato's action.

Kenobi shook his head. "So be it," he said. "Armor for Ms. Nagato, please."

I still wonder if any of the normal humans could feel the tension in the room. Koizumi told me he could sense it, in much the same way he could sense Haruhi's moods. To me it seemed like two vast powers, bitter rivals since time began, had clothed themselves in toddler's clothes and decided to play war in a sandbox. It certainly didn't look like much. For half a minute neither girl moved. Then, each time, Asakura would shout a kiai, lunge forward with incredible speed, and...

... the first time, scored an unopposed point on Nagato's left chest. Yuki never even moved.

The second time, Nagato blocked the blow to her head with an upswing so swift it knocked Asakura's shinai out of her hand, leaving her defenseless to Nagato's tap against the side of her head.

The third time Asakura lunged for a stabbing blow, and Nagato spun round in a move I've seen more in swashbuckling movies than in kendo. Asakura's blade slid past Nagato's, leaving the class 1-5 president open for the quick slap to the ribs Nagato administered in passing.

Just like that- one, two, three- it was over.

"Great job, Yuki!" Haruhi shouted, slapping the alien on her back, ignoring the padded armor. "Take a break, you've earned it!" She shoved me forward and said, "Get your armor on, Kyon! You're next!"

"Is he?" Asakura's mask was still on, but I could see that smile. "I would be greatly honored to test his skills."

"No thank you." Skywalker was pulling on his armor. "I claim the right to fight for my own destiny."

Asakura bowed meekly and stepped back from the crease.

As a spectator watching Nagato and Asakura face off, the tension had been incredible, even to an ordinary person like myself. Being in the center of it, being a direct part of it, added another zero to the energy level. From where I stood the taller, more athletic Skywalker towered over me like a suffocating shadow. Meanwhile, the shinai in my hand felt like... well, like a bamboo sword. During the baseball tournament the magic bat never felt any different whether Nagato had "homing mode" turned on or off, not until you discovered that it was swinging you, rather than you it.

But when I compared notes with Kenobi afterwards, he told me that the sword looked like someone had used the Force to make a bow knot that was also a Moebius strip and a Klein bottle at the same time. For him and Skywalker, the thing was hard to even look at- just as unsettling to them as Skywalker was to me. Maybe that should make me feel better, but all I can think is: Jedi Knight or Sith Lord, either way, Nagato scares them half to death.

There was no thirty-second pause before action in this fight. The instant the referees dropped their flags Anakin was on the charge, shouting again and again, swinging his shinai back and forth and overhead, simply overwhelming my defenses. _Adaptive homing mode_ only lasted five seconds before the two kendo club referees raised their flags to award first point. I didn't even notice the blow until I saw Skywalker's shinai pressed against my right side, tucked under my own sword.

After that it was a bit more even, but please don't ask me to explain what happened. My arms, and even once or twice my whole body, moved by themselves, faster than I could even think. Anakin shouted, and I may have shouted too, once or twice, definitely not screams. I remember two distinct times when one or the other of the kendo club's referees raised a flag to award me a point, but the other referee didn't agree. Neither did Koizumi, the traitor.

And then, after more time than I care to think about, Kenobi shouted, "TIME! Winner: Skywalker!"

"What?" Haruhi charged forward. "You can't just end the match like that!"

"This match has already gone longer than tournament rules permit," Kenobi replied calmly. "Skywalker has one undisputed point. Your team member has none. Therefore Skywalker wins."

Fine by me. The shinai clattered out of my numb, shaking hands onto the floor, which got me dirty looks from the entire kendo club. Good grief, it's not my club, and it's not my traditions of respect for even practice weapons. If you banned me from your dojo, I'd be as happy as you people.

"Terribly sorry," Koizumi whispered in my ear as he helped me take off the armor. "But the blades were going so fast I simply couldn't see the blows to count them. And I think you'll agree that, since we are the visiting team here, we must be absolutely honest and above-board? With, that is, the exception of the baseball bat?"

I wanted to say something back, but he was using my own frequent line of argument against me, so all I could do was growl at him as I sat on a bench.

"So," Skywalker said, facing Haruhi, "who will face me for the deciding match?"

"Well," Haruhi said, that arrogant smirk back on her face, "it falls to the master to make up for the apprentice's failings! I shall be your opponent!"

Since when have you taught me anything?

Haruhi picked up my shinai from the floor, and instantly both Kenobi and Skywalker took a step back. I could imagine what was going on in their minds that moment, and what little they told me afterwards confirmed it. The instant her hand touched the practice sword, Nagato's power left it, and it was an ordinary shinai again. But at that same moment Haruhi's power flared, strong enough that Koizumi's eternal pleasant smile slipped for several seconds. In that moment the two visiting Loopers were looking at what must have seemed like the Dark Side incarnate; unlimited cosmic power focused by indomitable will to a single purpose, namely sending to the floor anyone fool enough to face that will in the crease.

As Skywalker put it later: "When the Force is against a Jedi, the Jedi must either bow to its will or fall. And in this case, the Force was in the hands of a teenage girl and telling me, in so many words, 'Prepare to get your butt whipped.'"

What he actually said at the time, with a broader smile than he ought to have used, was: "Oh, well, if it's a case of master after apprentice, then you should fight my teacher instead. Isn't that right... Master Kenobi?"

Kenobi had looked pretty grim from the moment we'd entered, but now he looked absolutely stern. Every member of the kendo club had their eyes glued on him. "We will discuss this when we get home, Anakin," he growled, surrendering to the inevitable.

"I'm sure we will, Master," Skywalker said, still grinning. "Could the match wait long enough for someone to make popcorn?"

The following Saturday found us at that cafe across from the train station in the shopping district. I was feeling smug; Skywalker had arrived two minutes after me, and so for once I wouldn't be the one paying for everyone's drinks and meals.

"This is definitely not an excuse for you to have fun and goof off!" Haruhi said sternly over her coffee. "The boys will take the park, we girls will take the shopping district. If anyone sees something strange and unusual, report to the others at once so we can investigate!"

We've done this a thousand times, Haruhi. We're not going to find anything stranger than the six people sitting in this booth.

"This could be a variant Loop, and we haven't discovered the change yet!" Haruhi insisted. "Or there could be a stealth Looper like the ones that unicorn friend of yours told you about! And it's part of the SOS Brigade Executive Committee's duties to seek out the strange and unusual and to play with them!"

Yeah, yeah, good grief.

Haruhi's cel phone rang. She held it up, looked at it, and then looked across the table to Nagato, who held her own phone up with one hand while pointing at Skywalker with the other.

"You know what I meant, Yuki," she grumbled. "Strange and unusual... besides the six of us. We can explore our own weirdness at school during club time!"

"Why am I here again?" Skywalker sighed.

Because if you try to get away, she'll find some other way to bring you back. It's how this world works.

"I don't think I'm going to like this world," Skywalker murmured.

"That's all!" Haruhi, ignoring our quiet exchange, stood up from the booth. "Kyon, this is Skywalker's first patrol, and besides we should show courtesy to our guests, right? So you're paying in his place!"

"Er, that's all right," Skywalker said, "I don't mind-"

No, no, let me. Some fates you just can't escape, and an empty wallet in my pocket is definitely one of those.

-x-x-x-x-

"Why are we driving to Kobe?" Anakin Skywalker leaned up from the taxi's back seat to question Koizumi, who had been forced to sit beside Arakawa this time. The cab simply wasn't large enough for three people in the back when one of them was a tall, broad-shouldered blonde Jedi Master turned exchange student from the United States.

"The thing we wish to show you is there," Koizumi replied. "I thought it might help motivate you to be a little less confrontational with Haruhi."

Yeah, that. Besides, confronting Haruhi is my job. Second bananas need not apply.

"You know perfectly well I'm only going along with your little club under protest," Skywalker complained. "Is this about my refusing to train Mikuru in lightsaber dueling? Believe me, if there's a human less attuned to the Force than Mikuru Asahina, I've yet to meet him."

"That does have something to do with it," Koizumi said agreeably, "but I think today's little adventure was prompted by your declaration of refusal to take the SOS Brigade to Tranquility Base. You really shouldn't have mentioned those shuttlecraft in your subspace pocket."

"I am not a piece of playground equipment for a spoiled demigoddess!" Skywalker insisted. "Why doesn't she just take you to the moon herself, if she's all this powerful?"

"Haruhi's control over her abilities is... rudimentary," Koizumi said with careful consideration. "Little things like creating that lightsaber take a lot of practice. Mostly her power does things according to her subconscious wishes."

"So what?" Skywalker asked. "She wakes up one morning and there's a spaceship in her driveway?"

Koizumi winced. "Never so straightforward," he said, "and often not so... constructive. Have you any idea what lurks repressed in the dark corners of a person's mind?"

Skywalker slumped back in the car seat. For a moment the shadows across his face seemed to form the image of a very familiar mask. "I've got a mild notion, yes."

"Ah, of course. Pardon my presumption."

I felt a bit of sympathy for Skywalker. I've been on the receiving end of Koizumi's smarmy play-acting for longer than I care to think about closely. I had to admit, though, that my point of view was closer to the esper's than to the Jedi's. I knew what we were going to look at, and the gentle reminder of Skywalker's darker nature was probably a good step towards preparing him for it.

So long as he didn't push Skywalker into going full Vader on us. I like my limbs where they are, thank you, and my larynx doesn't need any downward size adjustment.

As we left the expressway for the city streets of downtown Kobe, Skywalker shifted in his seat. "I sense something," he said. "That... that's really strange."

"Oh, do you?" Koizumi looked back from his seat, and this time his fake-cheerful smile was mostly absent. "It may interest you to know that I sense the same thing. And you're right, it is most strange indeed." Looking more serious and thoughtful than usual, he said, "It may be worth an experiment, if you'd be so kind as to cooperate. I promise you this is not for my entertainment. This may seriously affect you."

I could tell Skywalker was barely even listening. "The feeling's getting stronger," he said. He pointed a finger. "It's coming from that direction. What is it?"

"It is easier to show you than to explain it," Koizumi said.

"Better to say," I said, "it's easier to understand the explanation once you've seen it. Which doesn't mean you'll understand it at all. It still surprises me sometimes."

The cab stopped, letting us off at the curb half a block down from an all too familiar intersection near the center of Kobe's downtown district. "This way," Koizumi said, leading us to the crosswalk, where we waited for the signal.

"Now, here's the experiment," Koizumi said. "When the walk signal lights up, start across the crosswalk, close your eyes, and head towards the center of the disturbance. Concentrate on moving towards the disturbance. I'll be right behind you, bringing Kyon along. He can't get where we're going without an invitation, you might say."

I might say, keep your lame efforts at humor to yourself. Otherwise I might slap you in the gut and say, "Gimme a break!"

Anakin, his face a mixture of worry and curiosity, silently nodded. The moment the crosswalk sign changed, his foot hit the pavement. His eyes closed, and he kept walking forward, allowing the normal people in the crosswalk to part around him like waves around a boat.

"It's time," Koizumi said, grasping my hand and pulling me after Skywalker. "Close your eyes."

I didn't get to see Skywalker make the transition, but when Koizumi told me to open my eyes he was there in front of us. We were the only three humans in sight, when a moment before the crosswalks had been crowded with hundreds of people. The afternoon sky had been replaced by a solid, featureless steel gray.

"What is this?" Skywalker asked.

"Welcome to closed space," Koizumi said. "You didn't believe Kyon when he tried to tell you about Haruhi's power. So we brought you here to see direct proof. Now follow me, please, and quickly. I'll try to explain on the way up."

I'm used to long climbs, thanks to that monster hill between the train station and North High, but nothing will get me to enjoy the climb up all those flights of stairs to the roof of that office building. For Koizumi and Skywalker, of course, it wasn't any effort at all, and those two were able to keep up a conversation even as I trailed behind.

"Are you trying to tell me," Skywalker said as we climbed out the roof access door, "that Suzumiya is powerful enough to create an entire universe every time she gets pissed off?"

"Not exactly," Koizumi said. "Closed space might be considered, from one interpretation, as a universe in embryo. If allowed to expand it would eventually destroy and replace the existing universe. But generally speaking closed space only arises when Haruhi is feeling frustrated with the world. Simple anger or boredom don't trigger the effect."

"You're quibbling over details. Does Haruhi intend to remake the universe right now?"

"Almost certainly not. This is the method her subconscious mind uses to let off some steam. My colleagues and I, the espers of this world, were granted our powers by Suzumiya specifically to keep closed space in check."

"I don't get it, though," Skywalker said. "So all of a sudden the sky's gray and all the people are gone. Big deal. What's destructive about this?"

"That," Koizumi said, pointing to a spot half a kilometer off, where what looked like a patch of night sky was taking humanoid form.

"That is a Celestial," Koizumi said. "Or at any rate that's what my organization calls them. Watch."

I'd seen this show before. I'd seen Celestials that moped. I'd seen Celestials save lives. I'd even seen Celestials dancing to immense taiko drums crafted from half-destroyed buildings. Most of the time, however, Celestials smashed things, and this was no different. One glowing star-speckled limb slammed into a twelve-story building, tearing off a large chunk from one corner.

"It's rather like taking one's frustrations out on a punching bag," Koizumi said. "Except the scale is, I admit, rather larger than usual."

"You've got to be kidding," Skywalker groaned. "You were telling me the truth. Your universe could be destroyed at any moment because of a teenage girl's... hissy fit!" He threw his hands into the air, shouting, "And this girl is a Looper? And she knows about her powers? Why doesn't she stop doing this? Why does she keep putting your existence in danger?"

"I can explain that," a new voice chirped from behind us.

Out of the stairway access door stepped a short girl, slightly younger than us, wearing a North High school uniform that was about a size too big. Close-cut brown hair held a large smiley-button decoration on the left side of her head. "It's me," she said, one bright eye winking.

"Who are you?" Skywalker asked.

"I told you. Watahashi."

Don't make bad puns, Watahashi. "This is Yasumi Watahashi," I explained. "You can think of her as the incarnation of Haruhi's subconscious. She's everything she doesn't let herself know about."

Anakin made a face of utter disbelief. "Whaaaaat?"

"That's not exactly true," Watahashi said, "but it'll do for now. I'm here to answer your question, Skywalker-san."

"Then I shall leave you to it," Koizumi said. "My colleagues, as ever-"

"No, Koizumi-san," Watahashi said. "Suzumiya has given Skywalker-san the powers of your group. You should help him practice after I'm done."

Skywalker looked about as baffled as I'd ever seen him, before or since. "Could you please just explain what you're all talking about?"

Watahashi grinned. "I'll tell you a little bit of a story," she said. "Imagine a very powerful being, technically able to sense and change anything and everything about the world in which it lived. And that being chose to keep these abilities hidden from itself, because it's more fun that way. And yet, that being still had to be able to take action to prevent certain things from endangering its world, and particularly those it felt affection for, so its powers had to be able to operate without its limited conscious knowledge. Do you follow me so far?"

"I... guess so," Skywalker said doubtfully.

"Now, imagine this being subconsciously looking at itself, at its universe, and noticing something slightly wrong. Time isn't flowing quite right. There seems to be a hiccup here," Watahashi held one hand flat on its side, "and here." Her other hand paralleled the first, measuring out an arbitrary distance between them. "This being has the ability to alter time within its own world, and it knows the signs of a time loop, right? But this one seems to come in out of nowhere and go off to nowhere. And the being doesn't remember anything beyond the current Loop, not at any level of its consciousness." She pointed to me and said, "Kyon knows what I'm talking about here."

Endless summer. It's not just an expression for the SOS Brigade. In baseline it was damn near 600 years, though while Looping we keep it down to a sane five or six months. And it doesn't affect our memory anymore, thankfully.

"So, imagine this being, which has a dim idea of the Loops but no direct knowledge," Watahashi continued. "But that's not the only hint. There are occasional... traces, kind of... it's not the right word, echoes might be closer. The being can't prove that people from other universes have been visiting in each Loop, but it can extrapolate from the echoes. And thus it learns that there are other universes, other people to meet and explore and play with and other fun things.

"But the being's world isn't Looping by itself. It's only activated when someone from outside comes in to visit. So, from the viewpoint of someone outside the being's world, it takes a very, very, very long time for it to figure things out. And then it forgets it all at the end of a Loop, right? But the next time it figures it out faster, because the evidence is just a little bit stronger. And the next time, faster, and the next time, even faster. Eventually it goes from, 'Hm, that looks like a time loop with loose ends, that's funny,' all the way to, 'There's something big and fun outside this world, and I'm not allowed to play,' in less than a day."

I looked up to see half a dozen glowing red balls- other members of Koizumi's Agency- and the Celestial watching and listening to Watahashi's story. I wasn't expecting an audience for this.

"So imagine the being, knowing about this, and looking for a way out. And then, one day, something breaks. I mean, really, really breaks, really badly."

"The Crash," Anakin said. "An entire universe wiped out of existence, even from memory. A lot of other universes badly damaged. And every loop crashed, glitched or frozen until the Admins picked up the pieces."

Watahashi nodded. "And in the confusion, the being finds a tiny crack in the universe, and pokes a bit of itself through to see what's on the other side."

"WHAT?" Anakin rushed forward and grabbed Watahashi by the upper arms, lifting her up to face level. "Are you telling me you ASCENDED? What were you THINKING?"

"Eeeeh, that it'd be fun?" Watahashi said. "The being poked a little bit of itself through. It wasn't that difficult. And it found a system, worked out how to tweak it- again, not that difficult- and set it up so that the tweak would happen the very instant it pulled itself back into its home world."

"But you can't DO that!" Anakin gasped, setting Watahashi back down so he could gesticulate freely. "I've heard what happened to Madoka's world! There is nothing left of it but Homura and that damn bunny cat! If you Ascend to the Admins' level of reality, your home world basically gets destroyed!"

"I'm... not entirely certain about that," Watahashi said. "If Kyon here did that, then yep, that'd be Bad End Game Over for this world. Everything rests on his shoulders. That's a known, definite, absolute fact."

Every word slammed into my shoulders like the weight of the Earth, and I'm certainly no Atlas.

"But if someone who's not the Anchor ascends, then... nobody knows," Watahashi continued. "It hasn't happened, and nobody wants to risk a universe's existence to experiment. But the best case is, if a non-Anchor manages to Ascend, it sheds the shell of its former universe, and maybe- maybe- the eggshell can be reassembled." To illustrate, Watahashi cupped her hands into a ball, opened them with fingers spread wide, and then closed them again into a loose sphere. "But the restored egg would have a hollow spot. That world would go on forever- past, present, future- with the Ascended person never having existed. Maybe they would be replaced, maybe not. Maybe the world would be strong enough to survive..."

Watahashi's hands flattened with a clap, made all the louder by the absolute silence of closed space.

"... maybe not." Watahashi dropped her hands, smiling. "That's too many maybes for the Admins. Or for Suzumiya."

"But... you... Ascended," Skywalker said, hands still gesticulating helplessly.

"In my defense, Suzumiya never completely left this world, and I didn't know the danger before I did it," Watahashi said. "But at the time this world wasn't actively Looping. That made it weaker in some ways, stronger in others, especially when everything broke. I understand things are fixed now, and what I did can't be repeated. Also can't be undone!" she added with a giggle. Then, sobering up, she added, "But that also means that things are different now. If Suzumiya Ascends again, it will be all the way, no partial, no sneaking through a crack, no over-and-back-again. And that's a problem."

Watahashi stepped closer to the edge of the building, gesturing at closed space. "Look at what Suzumiya can do already. Even an unAwake Suzumiya can do this," she said. "She can revive extinct species. She can make flowers bloom and fruit ripen out of season. She can move stars and alter the laws of physics themselves. She can break time as easily as a child cutting and knotting back a piece of string. Now imagine what she could do if she learned how to do it all... deliberately."

Anakin Skywalker, the most feared being in his home universe (if not the most hated), went ghostly white in the face.

"Now add to that any little tricks or epiphanies picked up in the Loops," Watahashi continued. "And then think... how long before she grows too big for the eggshell to hold her?"

Skywalker recovered the power of speech enough to ask, "So that's why she allows this to continue? Because her subconscious mind thinks it's safer for her universe to deny her the knowledge and control she needs to stop herself from destroying the universe herself?"

"That's one answer," Watahashi said. "There's another answer that's equally true."

"What?"

Watahashi grinned and held up a finger next to her nose. "It's more fun to learn to do things the hard way!" With that she jumped backwards off the edge of the building and into open space. Everyone except the motionless Celestial rushed to the edge to look down... except me. I knew exactly what they'd all see, and that's exactly what they did see.

Nothing.

Anakin leaned over the edge and kept staring down long after everyone else had pulled or floated away. "What? How?"

She's an incarnation of her subconscious. You're currently IN her subconscious. Figure it out. Of course she can appear and disappear at will.

Suddenly Watahashi popped into existence again directly behind Skywalker. "Oh, by the way!"

"WHA-HAAA!" Anakin very nearly jumped off the building himself, which likely would have had a much different result from Watahashi's jump. He managed to flop on his back with his shoulders hanging over the edge of the roof.

"I almost forgot to warn you," Watahashi said. "Suzumiya kind of dreams her way through visits to other worlds. She remembers afterwards, but not at the time. So if she visits your world, treat her as if she's not Awake at all, okay? Just a caution!" Waving goodbye, the strange underclassman took a more conventional exit by the roof access door.

"D-does she mean..." Skywalker gasped, looking from the door to me, "does she mean to say that that girl could show up in my universe any Loop, and maybe destroy it... without even knowing she was doing it?"

Memo to self: no matter how much Haruhi enjoys it, talk her out of the Sleeping Beauty incident this Loop, for the sake of our guest's sanity. "To be fair," I pointed out, "there's the same risk if any of the original seven show up."

Koizumi put a hand on Skywalker's shoulder. "And besides, Suzumiya's given you a counter to use against her." He used his free hand to summon up a glowing red ball. "You'd figure this out by instinct anyway- that's how our powers work- but you might as well take advantage of this opportunity to practice."

The Celestial, destined for a very brief existence as practice dummy for training Darth Vader in new esper abilities, stood there, motionless and expressionless. I don't think I'd be so stoic in its place, do you?

On the taxi ride back, Koizumi said, "By the way, it would be for the best if you never mention Watahashi's little story to Haruhi."

"Why not?" Skywalker asked. "Does she not know about her?"

"Oh, she knows, all right," I said. "There's a point in baseline where they meet- don't ask me to explain, it's complicated, and a lot of the time we short-circuit those events anyway. But Watahashi never tells Haruhi anything, so the whole business makes her really cranky."

"And we've just seen what happens when Haruhi gets cranky," Koizumi agreed. "Though cranky isn't the word I'd choose."

Skywalker groaned and put his head in his hands. "How do you people put up with this, Loop after Loop, and stay sane?"

Koizumi considered the point. "It could be argued that we haven't," he admitted. "The SOS Brigade as a whole could be a collection of four cases of extreme Stockholm Syndrome."

"Don't listen to him," I interjected. "We stay sane because, for all the crazy things Haruhi puts us through, there's a lot of fun as well. You wait and see." I sat back and relaxed, glad to finally be in the role of the wise mentor to... well, to anyone at all. "The first couple of months are always the worst... well, except for November, but that's not a problem when Haruhi's Awake. And we have our own little Loop within this one, that we completely control."

Memo to self #2: explain to Haruhi that this Loop's endless summer itinerary needs to be set by Skywalker. Two weeks of summer in any location in Japan he cares to go? Or possibly anywhere, full stop? Can Koizumi pull enough strings to get us all international plane tickets each time the summer resets? Need to get the inner circle together and hash this out.

"Oh, hells," Skywalker moaned. "I just realized something." He brought a hand up to rub his forehead. "Never mind Suzumiya... think how cranky _Obi-Wan_ will be when I tell him about all this!"

Being the wise mentor here, I acted wisely by leaving that problem entirely to Anakin Skywalker to solve. Not my business at all.

The rest of that Loop, I'm sorry to say, was a bit of a flop from my point of view. Oh, we all had fun, and even Anakin enjoyed some features. For example, this year we had enough people for a proper nine-man baseball team without using Asahina or my little sister. Thanks to a change in seeding we didn't meet the Pirates in the first round, so we actually advanced to the second round without cheating. Also, Skywalker figured out both the murder mysteries almost instantly, which led Koizumi to accuse me of dealing in spoilers. We avoided the Disappearance and the anti-SOS Brigade, though I did make sure to introduce Skywalker to Sasaki as sort of a Haruhi antidote.

But our visiting intergalactic Looper never became comfortable with Haruhi Suzumiya. Never. He played along with her whims (though the moon trip was out, because he had shuttlecraft but no spacesuits for anyone besides himself), but whenever she wasn't looking I could catch him regarding her with fear and suspicion.

One day well into second year, not long before we would expect a possible ending if the Loop ran short, I asked Anakin what he was staring at.

"In a way, myself," he said, "magnified a thousand times. You don't sense the Force at all, so you don't feel it."

Thank the Admins for little favors.

"If the sense were sight, it'd be like staring into two arc lamps at once," he continued, "except that one glows black. There's so much selfishness, and also so much love, in that one little figure. In my world she could be the greatest Jedi or Sith of all time... even before we talk about eggshell issues." That was how he referred to Suzumiya's powers- "eggshell issues."

"If you ever visit my world when I'm Awake," Skywalker finished, "don't even bother talking to me, because I'm going to run and run and never look back. Let my son deal with it- he's better at that sort of thing anyway."

And now you know why Haruhi is the only Looper Darth Vader actually fears that he doesn't put a bounty on in his home Loop. Not because he feels any sympathy for the SOS Brigade leader, but because he fears what she might do if any bounty hunter were unfortunate enough to try to claim it…

* * *

7.3 - (Firehawk242)

[Winx Club/Girls und Panzer]

"So we're supposed to drive tanks and blow each other up," Techna summed up.

"Yes," Miho said.

"And this is considered feminine."

"Yes."

"Are there limits to what you can use?" Techna asked.

"Yes," Miho said. "They vary by loop, but you can find them in the rulebook. Why?"

"I like to tinker," Techna said with a grin.

"I imagine they will change the rules to forbid this in the future," Miho said.

"Probably," Techna said. "Now hold us steady, I need to finish them off."

BOOM

The main turret of the tank they shared fired, a magnetically accelerated forty kilogram steel-jacketed slug tearing across the landscape at twelve hundred meters per second, taking out the final enemy tank.

"And that's game," Techna said.

"Yes," Miho said. "Tea?"

* * *

7.1 – Being Anchor is a lonely gig. Company would be nice.  
7.2 – Haruhi is terrifying when you really think about it. Darth Vader knows that all too well.  
7.3 – Magical techno fairies take all the sport out of shooting tank-rifles at each other.


	8. Chapter 8

8.1 – (Facepalmist)

[Evangelion/Hellsing]

It was January 1st, 2016, and Instrumentality had just been rejected. The continent-sized eldritch reaper of individuality was collapsing, and her Black Moon cracked open and leaking the syrupy slush of three billion souls in a massive torrent upon the blasted world.

 ***~GLUGGLUGGLUGGLUGGLUGGLUGGLUGGLUG~***

Come on, where _else_ would a Mideon be standing?

 ***~GLUGGLUG-Ptoi-Ptoi-GLUGGLUGGLUGGLUGGLUG~***

The unconscious forms of Shinji and Asuka (neither Awake) floated away in the tide as Alucard drank his fill. After all, it was sure to go to waste otherwise...

-x-x-x-x-

"How disgussssss..." Asuka cleared her throat and sat up. "Huh. Late Wake-up."

"Yeah," Shinji agreed, scrubbing at his face. "Shit, how long do we even have left?"

"Oh, not that long I imagine."

Shinji and Asuka froze and looked over to the speaker, who was leaning back against a nearby boulder and cradling his abdomen with a crazed grin.

"What?" Alucard asked innocently, or as innocently as Alucard could manage.

* * *

8.2 – (Tabac Iberez)

[Girls und Panzer/How To Train Your Dragon]

Cracking an eye open, Astrid looked around very carefully. Apartment, sorta-Hub-ish. Very Japanese, school uniforms in the closet. Getting up, Astrid rolled her shoulders and got dressed. It was a new Loop, so blending in was probably a good idea until she found the Anchor. Some of these school Loops were very fun- from magic, to other dragons, to sheer shenanigans. And then there was Eiken, proving that the genre of a Loop was a mixed bag. Heading out the door, she let her Loop Memories guide her to class.

-x-x-x-x-

Arriving at school, Miho dutifully let things continue apace until the Tankery presentation started. Doing the same thing a few thousand times tended to make it easier to spot differences, and there was a glaring oddity. Off in the middle of the general masses was a blonde girl, languidly watching the Panzer III parade roll across the projector screen. Pulling out her notebook, Miho noted the oddity, and shut it. It was time to plan on how to win the tournament this time. Miho was tentatively thinking about whittling down the enemy teams until on the flag tank remained, but that seemed a little cruel. She still hadn't been able to get the Chi-Nu able to haul it's own weight yet, though. Maybe do that this time around?

-x-x-x-x-

Looking at the card idly, Astrid checked off "Tankery" without a second thought. She had driven the... what did Hiccup call it?.. once, so it wasn't totally foreign to her. At the very worst, she could transfer out to another activity.

-x-x-x-x-

Things were definitely off, Miho decided. The blonde was a member of the first draft of the Tankery club, and not part of the Volleyball club. _This had never happened before!_ It was neigh-on inconceivable! After the "coach" left, Miho quickly got the newcomer away for a short conversation.

-x-x-x-x-

Astrid smiled. Connected person, coming to talk. Excellent opportunity to find the Loop Anchor. Smiling, she stuck out her hand.

"Hello. I'm Astrid Hofferson."

Miho returned the shake, and smiled. "Miho Nishizumi. So, when did you arrive here? I don't remember you."

Astrid chuckled. "Got here today, as a mater of fact. That said, have you noticed anyone behaving odd?"

Miho frowned. "No. What kind of odd?"

"Never surprised, insanely good at predicting what will happen, always knows exactly where to be." Astrid said, "Things like that. Almost as if they lived through things once already."

Now Miho narrowed her eyes. "What would you say if I told you I've been through a time loop?"

Mentally, Astrid cheered. "Welcome to Yggdrasil."

"What?" Was Miho's answer.

"Welcome to Yggdrasil. See, you're not the only person who goes through these time loops…"

* * *

8.3 – (KrspaceT)

[Gurren Lagann]

A fleet of a dozen Super Galaxy Gurren Lagann battle ships hovered over the Spiral world of Earth as the invasion fleet continued to pile out of hyper space.

"So, the Galactic Empire has finally come" Supreme Commander Simon frowned as at least two fleet appeared over the horizon, number at least in the 800's.

While the Super Galaxies were larger than Death Stars...size alone didn't exactly win battles.

After all, a small fighter did defeat the first death star with a single photon torpedo.

"Supreme Commander Sir" the red and white haired brother-sister team of Gimmy and Darry saluted him "The Grapearl squadrons are ready, as are the Gunmen. Gurren Lagann is also ready for launch"

Simon nodded, clutching the core drill in his hands. Of course, like the Gurren Lagann, he had several of them, but it was still a habit.

"Very well, prepare for battle!"

-x-x-x-x-

For the fate of the planet began the battle of Mecha and Tie Fighter.

Lasers crossed the vacuum, explosions rang out, and casualties were high on both sides.

But, due to the increased use of Beastmen pilots by Simon, and the fact that Tie Fighters, unlike robots, could not punch the enemy in the face, they were holding their own and generally keeping the Galactic Empire back.

However, the empire had something up their sleeve...

A large, round something.

"Oh crap!" Simon cursed as a Death Star emerged from Hyper Space, already charging its laser.

"Well Simon, have any brilliant plans for stopping that thing from beating the Anti-Spirals on their doomsday countdown. We are a few hundred hairless apes away from a Million, after all?" Viral joked as Simon lowered his goggles.

"GIGA!"

"You can't be serious Simon..."

"DRILL!"

"...Oh what the hell, might as well try it once."

"BREAKER!"

The drill attack, powered by spiral energy, flew right into the path of the planet destroy super laser...

-x-x-x-x-

Oh come on, who do you think won? Do you think the galaxy would ever give Tarkin the satisfaction of winning against cool protagonists?

Anyway, the laser was completely reflected (And, as it was a Death Star V1, the laser had to charge for an hour) and currently Lagann was plugging in to take over the Death Star as Simon's first one.

That just left Simon and Viral to capture the head honcho in charge.

"So, Vader, Tarkin or Palpatine?" Viral absently asked as the two ran through the halls.

"Vader is an on the field of battle' sort of evil overlord. He would be out fighting the Grapearl squadrons himself, Looping or not."

"That's a rarity" Viral deadpanned. So few evil overlords were that proactive.

"It would either be Tarkin or Palpatine then," Simon decided "We should be ready for any..."

The two leapt out of the way of force lightning as they got the answer on who was commanding the attack.

"Why, aren't you a unique looking creature" the old emperor of the Dark Side approached them, his hand still sparking from his attack "And I sense an interesting power from you, young man. You will make fine creatures for dissection"

"Look, I've been part of science experiments before you over aged freak. I didn't particularly like it. Plus, I'm sort of immortal and constantly regenerating like some Wolverine wannabe, so I'm not really dissect-able" Viral deadpanned as Simon shot him a look.

"Viral, don't say that. He has an immortality fetish"

"I thought he just liked manipulating young boys?"

The two dodged some fury lightning blasts for that.

"Shouldn't he be trying to choke us or something?"

Simon, after dodging more lightning, gave the best theory that he could come up with for why that wasn't the case.

"The Force is life energy, like Spiral Power. Perhaps it's just too much interference?"

"Well, at least that limits what this freak can..."

"Black Vortex!"

Shadows shot from Sidious's hand and restrained Viral and Simon, while also bringing them in.

"What the hell!? Since when did this freak get Devil Fruit Power from that Blackbeard freak of nature!" Viral the shark cat man hypocritically complained. "Hell, how does that even work outside of that freaky place!?

"He better not be Looping," Simon didn't want to have to deal with an Anakin who found that out. The resulting freak out...well Spiral Nemesis could be the better alternative for that Loop.

It was possible this was just a glitch. Hopefully it was.

But first, to get free.

Simon used his spiral power in a huge burst of energy to shatter the darkness holding himself and Viral, as Sidious responded with shifting eyes.

"Surrender and be dissected!"

"A Geass?! Nice try...but I've dealt with that thing before" Simon smirked, though he frowned as Viral went to his knees "...Spiral Kamehameha!"

A glowing green energy orb formed in Simon's hands as he fired the energy blast, which Sidious countered with Force Lightning augmented with the Yami Yami fruit.

...Again, no contest.

-x-x-x-x-

The Anti-Spiral had no idea why there was a giant sphere hovering over their home-world, or why it had a giant pair of glasses on it.

However, the spiral energy laser it fired sort of answered the question.

"Gurren Star laser success, what do we do now Commander?" Viral, recovered from his Geassing, but with a massive headache, questioned as Simon frowned.

"...Smoothies?"

* * *

8.4 –(Filraen)

My sister's devilish wake-up signaled I was living the first day of high school again. I wonder how other Loopers don't go mad at such constant repetition? Probably they do eventually go mad, considering how bad Unawake Yuki gets after each endless summer. After a quick shower and breakfast I checked my phone for any new messages from unknown numbers.

 _Kyon, SOS Brigade meeting at the clubroom at lunch_

 **YUKI.N] Awake**

 _Nothing seems to be different this time. I'd be arriving at North High by the end of the week._

 _Please msg me if there's a club meeting today. Mikuru._

 _I'll be around the club meeting today. Mikuru._

All from unknown numbers except the second, which as usual came from nowhere.

All five of us, Awake for the first time together. I was already looking forward to this loop.

I'm not sure if I should be relieved or sad when Haruhi doesn't wear a ponytail on the first day at North High.

Anyway, I gave my usual speech to introduce myself to my classmates. "Everybody calls me Kyon, even my own sister, and I'm the SOS Brigade's own Anchor in this world." My smirk matched Haruhi thousand-watt smile as Taniguchi complained about there being "two of them."

"So, first order of business: Yuki, Mikuru, Mikuru, you're now unlocked and unreadable." Haruhi had made it a priority to figure out that trick- a subtle alteration of the universe that allowed Nagato and the Asahinas to keep secrets from their bosses, to talk about any and all subjects, and even to go against their wishes if they wanted.

The twin smiles from both older and younger Mikuru Asahina complemented Yuki's nod.

"Thanks, Haruhi-chan." Asahina (elder) stood up from her seat and handed me an envelope.

"With these my bosses won't send another time traveler," Asahina (elder) told us. She gave a regretful look to her younger self and said, "Sorry."

"I know," Asahina (younger) nodded, looking a bit dejected. I knew it hurt to be cut out of the information loop all the time, but she knew it was necessary.

I always wonder if the way the Asahinas hug each other before the older leaves is awkward. It's probably the ultimate test of "being at peace with yourself," yourself being the you from several years in the past/future.

"Kyon, quit daydreaming or I'll make you pay penalty for the next dozen Loops!"

Oh, sorry, Haruhi. You were saying?

"Did you get a text from Koizumi?"

Yes, I did. He's Awake too and will try to meet with us after classes at the cafe. Though I don't know why you asked me. You probably mailed him just after Awakening today.

"Good to see you already know too. Everyone, have five plans for things to do this Loop: four considering a one year long range and three for a possible five-year long Loop."

That's more than five plans! Though I didn't have time to complain, as the bell rang that moment ending lunch break.

"Ok, everyone dismissed!"

-x-x-x-x-

The five members of the SOS Brigade sat at the café across from the train station, as usual.

"Yuki, privacy field."

The short haired girl nodded once. "Done."

Haruhi facepalmed. "Yuki, give more emotion. Make your powers more showy, so it looks like the 'dumb magic' Kyon says it is!"

I do not call it "dumb magic." I say we normal humans are so dumb that what Nagato does looks like magic. It's a totally different concept!

Yuki's eyes rose from the book she was reading and looked directly at Haruhi. "Making a privacy field more visible reduces it effectiveness."

"Fine, fine." Haruhi pouted for a moment before returning her usual enthusiasm. "Anyway, Loop call: Koizumi?"

"I regret I have nothing to say," Koizumi shrugged. "From my point of view, yesterday I was in a club meeting as a North High Student."

"Mikuru?"

"N-nothing either."

"Yuki?"

"No."

"You better have something good, Kyon. Any Loops without us?"

I set down my milk to answer. "Actually two since the last time you were Awake. In the first one we tried to become a professional rock band. Remember that contest we entered after the cultural festival? We dealt with your memetic music, but we became so popular, and your power went so out of control, that during the Christmas concert it was raining Santas. And that's before the Loop ended with the Valentine Day concert."

Haruhi winced a moment. Not that she would ever apologize for anything she did when not Awake. "And the second?"

"That one was... strange." I could feel my face burning as I said, "I was a talking pony. Let me see..." I reached inside the jacket of my school uniform in a very particular way. "How to do this... here it is!" Out came a framed picture of a brown pony with a even darker brown mane and tail wearing a tie and the picture of a hourglass on his flank facehooving in a very me-like manner. "Apparently I was replacing the local clockmaker, Time Turner."

Both Haruhi and Mikuru were stunned at the look of the picture, but Mikuru was the first to react and take it from Kyon's hands, "So cute!"

Koizumi's expression was one of surprise, though. When he spoke his tone was so serious it calmed the mood of the whole table immediately. "One question, did you actually have this picture taken in that Loop?"

I had to resist the urge to tilt my head. "Yes, why?"

Koizumi didn't have chance to answer because Haruhi anticipated him standing from her place at the table and pointing an accusatory finger at my face, "How did you carry this picture from that Loop to here?"

My eyebrows went up. All that practice in the previous Loop, and all the time spent among other Loopers doing the same thing, had made me forget how odd the little trick really was. "Oh, that. The Anchor there, a unicorn called Twilight Sparkle, taught me how to make what they call a Subspace Pocket. According to her, whatever is inside it by the end of a Loop I carry with me to the next one."

"All right. Anybody opposed to Kyon spending this Loop teaching us this trick?" Waiting a moment for anybody to raise an objection, something which never happened, Haruhi cheerfully declared. "Everybody in favor, nobody against, motion passed!" She knew everyone would want the chance of learning how to carry things between Loops. "Now let's see your plans I asked..."

* * *

8.5 – (jxz)

[Selector WIXOSS]

"And so, I defeated Akira in a flash!" Ruko told her current Selector, Yuki. It seemed like a role reversal Loop, though that meant that they had to steal Tama from Ulith, and that wasn't that easy...

"Really? Did you use White Hope?"

"The attack, or the card?"

"The attack."

"Then yeah, I did. I'll be honest, it's better than Black Desire, no offense."

"None taken. So... What now?" Yuki asked.

"Hmm... I don't know... What if we wish for new LRIGS, that can't grant wishes, and that the human ones become human again?" The usually Selector offered.

"You know that Mayu will find a loophole, right?"

"Maybe, but that won't stop us, will it?" Ruko asked, smiling.

"Yeah, you're right. Now, let's go for Tama, ok?"

"Ok!"

* * *

8.6 – (SpaceKGreen)

[Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo]

Beauty sighed happily, despite her aching body. As far as she was concerned, this Loop was pure bliss.

That nice Harvest Goddess (Apparently not Yggdrasil level, but pretty high for this Loop) and the local mayor (Beauty was sure she knew her from somewhere, but she couldn't place it) had helped her move into a local farm, and all they asked in return was that she run it well.

Waking up before the sunrise, tilling the fields, watering the crops, tending the animals, meeting the townsfolk...

Compared to her usual situation, this was paradise.

Sure, HE had shown up, but in an incredible stroke of luck, it was several towns away, and without any big threats, he seemed content enough to stay where he was.

Beauty idly dropped a bit of Mystrile ore into her Subspace Pocket. Surely some other Looper would like it, or help her make something of it.

Turning her mind back to HIM, she started musing.

Recently she had actually noticed a few familiar bits of wackiness from him.

At first Beauty was excited, hoping that she could finally figure out a pattern to the craziness.

She gave up soon afterward, though, when she found it was more like that math pi thing. Sure, some digits repeated, but there was no pattern, no matter how far you went.

Hmm. Had any Looper actually tried their hand (or whatever) at calculating pi?

A line from the TV interrupted her tangential thought.

"...And the winner is Chef B, whose beans tasted much better than Chef A's. Tell us, Chef B, what is your secret to making such delicious beans?"

"It's simple. These beans have spiderwebs in them."

As the show host and the taste testers started choking, Beauty changed the channel.

 _'Was that natto?'_ she wondered.

* * *

8.7 – (Theburper)

[One Piece]

Nami walked through the halls of the Alabastan palace, looking for the king. She had finally worked up the courage to do something she wished she had done many Loops ago. Soon enough, she found him.

"What can I help you with?" Cobra asked.

"It's about Vivi. She desperately wants to come with us, but feels that she can't leave the country. I'd like you to talk to her." The navigator replied.

"I will. I've noticed the same thing."

-x-x-x-x-

On the coast of Alabasta...

The straw hats sailed towards the predetermined meeting point, preparing for the inevitable departure.

"I'M READY TO GO!"

Shocked, the straw hats turned to see Vivi, packed and on Carue.

"Then hop on!" Luffy extended an arm to her.

-x-x-x-x-

At Water seven...

"So... Let me get this straight. Against all odds, Carue managed to take photos of all our fights? Vivi, you have one crazy duck."

"Let's not look yet." Everyone turned to see Luffy standing in the doorway. "Let's save the photos for Raftel."

-x-x-x-x-

At Raftel…

"Well, I guess it's time to look at mine." Vivi picked up the camera, seeing...

A photo of her fighting Blueno.

A photo of her using AOE attacks to stop Absalom.

A photo of her and Jimbei fighting back to back in the war.

A photo of her beating Vander Decken.

A photo of her facing down Dellinger.

And a photo of her final bounty "Pirate Princess Nefeltari Vivi, 122 Million Beli."

-x-x-x-x-

The next Loop...

The Strawhats entered Laboon's belly, only to be surprised by Vivi tackle hugging Luffy. "Why are we back in time?"

* * *

8.8 – (GioGio)

[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure]

Jonathan watched as Dio Brando jumped out of his carriage, landing onto the dirt road below him and looking at him with a haughty smirk.

Jonathan gave a kind smile back, but inside his mind he was watching Dio's every action.

For several times now, after his fateful honeymoon with Erina and his death on that boat with the severed head of Dio, he had been stuck in what appeared to be 'time loops' (As that Ranma lad told him in one such Loop.) He would always come to this day, the day when Dio first arrived at the Joestar estate, albeit in some Loops he would be in a school of Hogwarts or an oriental village called Konoha.

Jonathan had attempted to use several of these Loops to bring a better relationship between him and Dio. However that never really worked. It always ended with Dio putting on that accursed Stone Mask in one way or another. However Jonathan was usually able to save his father and have Dio only scratch them, as well as prevent Danny from being burned alive. Yet he never seemed to act fast enough to stop Dio from becoming a vampire.

Jonathan was a gentleman, but he wasn't stupid. If he didn't do something, Dio would attempt to make another one of his many childhoods a living hell in some way or another.

So, now it was time for Jonathan to give what he considered LONG overdue payback to his brother.

"You must be Dio Brando!" Jonathan exclaimed with a smile. Dio only smirked back at him.

"And you must be Jonathan Joestar." Dio replied back, his voice polite.

"Woof!" Danny barked out as he began running towards Jonathan and Dio, obviously happy to see his owner and a newcomer.

Jonathan smiled as he waved at his dog. "That's Danny! He's very smart and friendly, so you have nothing to worry about!"

Dio huffed and began walking forward, and Jonathan knew what was going to happen next. Dio was going to kick Danny for nothing more than being a dog and something Jonathan loves.

But this time Jonathan was prepared.

Turning around, Jonathan 'accidentally' allowed his left foot to knock against Dio's partially lifted left leg. Dio let out a gasp of surprise as he tripped and fell right onto his face.

"Over there is a river that I..." Jonathan let out a gasp of surprise as he looked to the now down Dio. "Oh no! I'm terribly sorry Dio! You see, I'm a bit clumsy. Father has been scolding me so much over it..."

Dio fumed as he picked himself off the ground, humiliated and furious. However, he could not do anything. The coach driver was now looking towards him. If he did anything to retaliate against Jonathan, the driver would likely report to George Joestar.

No. He would put Jonathan in his place later. Right now, he needed to appear as the good son...

-x-x-x-x-

"Come along Dio, I'll show you to your room!" George declared as he began climbing up the stairs, leaving the two boys alone together.

Dio saw Jonathan reach down for his bag. This was it! This was his chance! He would show Jonathan the pecking order in the household with a few well-placed blows, and begin his quest to utterly humiliate and degrade Jonathan in the eyes of society and his father. Only he, Dio, will be the heir of the Joestar fortune!

Dio's left hand shot out and grabbed Jonathan's right wrist and squeezed hard, bringing it upwards. However, for some reason, extra force was being applied from Jonathan! What's worse, it was changing direction!

Jonathan's hand impacted with Dio's left eye hard, making Dio gasp out in pain and drop Jonathan's arm. "Oh no Dio! I am so very sorry!" Jonathan cried out in embarrassment. "You see, I also practice boxing, so my reflexes kicked in. Luckily I didn't hit you too hard..." Jonathan then grabbed Dio's luggage and began climbing up the steps as Dio covered his eye. "It won't show any bruising though, you'll be fine in a minute or so!"

"T-that bastard..." Dio hissed out in anger and pain. "Just you wait Jonathan... soon I'll make you pay!"

-x-x-x-x-

"Hm?" Dio muttered out as a small cake was brought before him.

"Well to welcome you into the family, I worked with the servants to make you this cake Dio!" Jonathan exclaimed with a happy smile. "I hope that's alright father."

"Of course it is Jonathan. After all, Dio is now your brother as well as my son." George then turned to Dio. "Go ahead, you may eat it."

"I thank you both for your kindness." Dio said in a low tone before using his fork to take a piece out of the cake. Although he utterly despised it being made by the hands of Jonathan, he needed to keep up appearances. He took a bite out of the piece and chewed for a bit. The cake was chocolate, and loath he admitted it but it tasted pretty good.

"So Dio, does it taste good?" Jonathan asked, making Dio clench his fork for only a second before putting it down and wiping his mouth with his napkin.

"It is deli-"

Dio's 'compliment' was interrupted by the grumble of his stomach, causing him to pause. A sinking feeling was now occurring within his bowls, and Dio's eyes widened as he fidgeted in place. No way, this was not happening!

"E-Excuse me!" Dio cried out as he stood up from his seat and began running to the direction of the bathroom. The sinking feeling was now becoming worse every single second! _"Jonathan, you bastard!"_

It took everything Jonathan had not to burst out laughing. He had slipped a laxative into Dio's cake, and Dio would have bowel problems for the rest of the night. _"Thank you wherever you may now be, Mister Uzumaki."_

Now what to do? It would take several years before Dio tried to use the Stone Mask or meet Mr. Zeppeli. _"Perhaps I should sneak out to Ogre Street at night and find Speedwagon?"_ He sorely missed his friend, and becoming childhood friends with Speedwagon for this Loop might be an interesting experience. _"Perhaps I should teach him the Ripple as well..."_ It could prove useful later on, because although Jonathan never liked to admit it, Speedwagon was a bit useless when they ran against zombies or vampires.

Jonathan allowed a bright smile to appear on his face. Things were already looking up in this Loop.

* * *

8.9 – (GioGio)

[Naruto/Ranma/Bleach/Evangelion/JoJo]

Ichigo wiped away the bile from his mouth and stared at the manga in his hands with horror written on his face. Shinji was still bent over the trash can throwing up the contents of his own stomach while Ranma seemed to be trying to push through the fifth page, but Ichigo could see that he was barely holding on.

"What the hell is this?" Ichigo shouted, pointing at the book while Naruto looked grimly to the floor. "I've seen a lot of crap in the Loops, but this takes the cake!"

"Apparently, it's Rohan's latest manga, if this thing can even be called that." Naruto responded with a shrug. "I just wanted to show it to you guys. I know I haven't thrown up in a while in absolute disgust."

"That thing with the Moore expy..." Ranma muttered, shakily setting the book down to catch his breath. "Why would Rohan even want to make something like this!? Isn't this the kind of stuff he usually hates?"

"Apparently, some critics pissed him off and Rohan made this to get back at them." Naruto replied. "Or at least that's what Josuke told me."

Shinji just looked at him with disbelief. "That's just _petty_!"

Naruto, Ichigo, and Ranma all gave him blank stares. "This is _Rohan_ we're talking about."

"Writing this... this _thing_ just because some critic gave him a bad review is petty even for him!" Shinji shot back before all three looked back at their copies of the manga.

"So... who wants to show this to Harry and see how long it takes for him to blow chunks?"

"I bet 10,000 yen he doesn't make it past page four."

Back In Morioh:

Rohan drank another shot of whiskey before resting his head on the table of the cafe. "What have I done..."

"I told you it was a bad idea to make it." Josuke replied as he sipped his coffee with a smug grin.

"I can't believe I made such... such trash! Even if it was in a fit of righteous rage...!" Rohan groaned pathetically. "This has to be the lowest point in my career as a mangaka..."

"You have to admit, it's an accomplishment to see a manga get banned from the Rook Islands, and they regularly kill tigers over there."

"Shut up Higashikata…"

* * *

8.10 – (Indalecio)

[DBZ]

His name was Farmer, and he was a farmer. Any humor that could've been milked from his name had long since worn thin. He'd been an ostrich farmer for most of his life, and hadn't done much else, so the offer from young lady across from him had been a mite puzzling. She wanted him to grow peaches on his land?

"Yes, from my research on soil conditions, this seems to be optimal place to grow them." the young lady said.

"Well, assuming that's true, Ms. Briefs, why would I divert land from my, highly profitable, I might add, ostrich operation, to grow peaches?"

"Well, I could think of at least one." said Bulma as she opened the briefcase she had next to her to reveal row after row of stacks of zenny.

-x-x-x-x-

On one of her Loops she had found the spot where Raditz's ship had crashed down and had also observed what happened afterward, which what lead her to her current project. It would be an incredible prank to see Raditz, brother of Goku and would-be world cleanser, beaten by the first person he ran across.

The peaches, or ensenji, would grant considerable power to those who ate them, at least enough to beat Raditz. She'd pay him for the rest, of course, so these wouldn't spread abroad. Though there was an idea. Maybe she could see if she could empower every man, woman and child on earth, but that would be another project, and another Loop.

-x-x-x-x-

Raditz gently lowered himself to the ground in front of the...oddly calm human in front of him.

"So, the creatures on this planet are still alive. Kakarot has failed us!" Raditz said, mostly to himself.

"Stranger, I do believe you're trespassing on private property. I'm going to have to ask you to go and take your ship with you."

"Is that so?" Raditz tapped his scouter. As the numbers shot up, Raditz's confidence went way down.

* * *

8.11 – (XeroM52)

[Skullgirls/Eyeshield21

This was it. This was the moment that would decide everything. After hours of intense combat finally the battle would come to an end and everyone would see which army had the right to claim victory over the downed bodies of their opponents.

Yes. Everything would be decided by one final play. A kick that would send the ball through the goal and score the points the team needed to win. And the one kicking the ball was none other than the Peacock herself.

' _You can do it, you can make the goal!'_ The goal to take the win for her team, the ASG Labs had a rough season playing against far superior teams, but with sheer determination and teamwork, the ASG Labs had gotten here, the game that would decide who goes on to the finals.

' _I can do it, I can win this!'_ Not only for herself, put for everyone who had given their all to get this far. This final kick carried their hopes and dreams, and Peacock wasn't going to let them down.

"Patricia, you can do it." From the sidelines came the monotone cheer of their team's only cheerleader, Marie. Peacock knew that cheering wasn't Marie's forte or that she even liked doing it, but the white haired maid had stuck with them and cheered for them when nobody else did so.

' _Marie, this kick is also for you!'_ Yes. Now she knew she couldn't fail, not when Marie was also doing her best, it was only fair that Peacock would reward that effort by winning this game.

"THIS IS IT!" She yelled to pump herself up and started to run. ' _This is it! I carry within me my team's hopes and dreams!'_ Peacock came upon the ball and lifted her leg ready to finally kick the ball. **' TAKE THIS! MY LOVE, MY ANGER, AND ALL OF MY SORROW!'**

 _*Swoop*_

"Eh?"

She…she missed! She missed the ball!

Wait, no. She didn't miss; someone had moved the ball out of the way of her kick. And because of the force behind the kick, the momentum was enough to make Peacock lose her balance and ended up falling nape first unto the ground.

"HaHa! That was a good one, eh boss?" Avery, the small green parasite bird said with a laugh.

"AVERY! YOU ASS!" Peacock stood up and threw herself at the tiny little rascal. "I'm gonna KILL YOU NOW!"

"No! wait!" Avery pleaded but it was too late, Peacock would not listen to reason. Soon enough the rest of the team tried to separate them but ended up joining the brawl instead.

On the sidelines on the seats, Sena Kobayakawa, running back for the Devil Bats, saw the spectacle down below with a worried look. "Do you think we should do something?" The small brunet asked to his friend and quarterback Yoichi Hiruma, only to notice the angry face he was showing. "Hiruma! Are you okay?" Sena asked worriedly.

"Damn, damn, damn! Why did this have to happen?" The tactical devil yelled in frustration. "I had a whole strategy designed to counter Peacock and her weird tactics, but now we have to play against the Black Egrets." His whole night of work ruined by a meddling little bird. "Damn it all." He really wanted to test his own tactical mind against one that rivaled him in cunning.

"I see…" Sena sweat-dropped at Hiruma's tantrum. ''But still, Black Egrets are good team, I'm sure our game with them at the finals is going to be challenging too." He tried to see the silver lining on all of this.

"Yes, we won! We are going to the finals." cheered one of the Black Egrets players as they group of them walked away from the field. "That means Paunzerfaust can play."

"Yes, after that injury we thought he wouldn't be able to play, but now that he's better he can play with us again." Another player said enthusiastically. "Let's go tell him the good news!"

"No need, he is seating right there!" One of the Egrets pointed towards where Sena and Hiruma were sitting, and since neither of them where this Paunzerfaust, they turned around to look for him only to find a 10 feet mountain of a man sitting a few rows behind them.

"Okay, I'm not usually the one who would say this but…" Sena said with a twitch on his eye. "Someone ought to make that guy take an anti-doping." He worried mostly because he didn't want to be trampled under the foot of the giant.

Besides him, Hiruma had his usual devilish grin. "Oh! This just got interesting again!"

"You would say that." Sena said defeated. _'Now I'm not looking forward for the finals, anymore!'_

* * *

8.12 – [Kaoupa]

[One Punch Man/Avatar: The Last Airbender]

"Is there something wrong with her?"

"Sorry, it's just... the guy you Replaced, usually, he's her husband when they get older." Sokka explained quickly, sparing a quick glance to his sister Katara, who was sulking at the edge of the iceberg.

"Ah. I see." Aang's Replacement quietly nodded. "What do we typically do this Loop?"

"Normally, we just run Baseline, with a few adjustments where we think that it's safe." Sokka said, before grinning. "Buuuut, I was getting bored recently. Wanna spice things up a lot?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well, besides us, Mai and Ty Lee are the only ones Awake, so I was thinking we could..."

Omashu, several months later:

Mai was on high guard as she took a look at the trio across from her. From what she and Ty Lee could tell, they looked normal; since Zuko and Azula were both Asleep, the two of them had decided to just play along like in Baseline until they got to Ba Sing Se.

Even though she would never admit it till after the Loops ended, Azula's face whenever they double-crossed her and got away with it was always pretty funny.

Especially that time it had somehow led to the two of them becoming the dual Earth Queens...

Returning her thoughts to reality, she winced just as Azula finished her "speech" on the trade. She had never been sure whether to feel horrible or grateful that it always made her feel bad about what had happened in Baseline...

Sighing as she pulled out a knife, Mai pulled back her arm to let it fly...

"Air punch!"

...Only to be sent flying herself by the massive blast of wind sent her way.

 _'Strange, that's not Aang's usual tactic…'_ she thought, before noting absently that Azula appeared to have fallen over (and that Ty Lee had used the airbending she acquired in one of her earliest Loops to stop it from sending her flying.)

To her surprise, when she looked up, the monk was already there, and had apparently subdued Azula within the few seconds it took her to look up.

"...You're not Aang, are you?" She said, as Ty Lee jumped forwards to their position.

"No, I am not the typical Avatar for this world at this time." The bald airbender shook his head. "I typically go by the name Saitama."

It took Mai and Ty Lee less than two seconds to make their next decision.

"WE SURRENDER!" Ty Lee screamed, raising her hands over her head.

"You taking defectors?" Mai asked.

* * *

8.13 - (Me)

[Yu Yu Hakusho]

Yuusuke Awoke in the middle of the street seconds before getting run over by a speeding car. While most Loopers would be upset to die seconds after the start of a new Loop, he had long since gotten used to Yggdrasil's screwed up sense of humor.

Ranma got smacked in the back of the head with a stop sign, Ichigo got kicked in the face by his dad, and he got hit by a car. Shit happened.

One meeting with Koenma later, he was given the Spirit Egg. Due to his connection with the Spirit Beast, it was only a matter of seconds before Pu hatched and took his customary place atop Yuusuke's head.

"So can I go back to my house now?"

Koenma, Boton and Jorge just stared blankly.

-x-x-x-x-

Shortly thereafter he was back in business, alive and kicking. And he had a goal for this Loop. After tracking down Sensui and taking him out, he stabilized the portal Itsuki had been forming and from there it was a short free-fall into the Makai Realm.

Shifting to his Mazoku form he quickly charged towards Raizen's castle, and less than a minute later he stood in front of the Starving demon Lord.

"Hey Old Man, I got something for ya!"

Raizen opened his eyes from where he was resting on his throne to stare down at unknown demon before him. However after a moments scrutiny, he smiled.

"So, my blood has finally found a worthy successor. Tell me, what is your name?"

"Name's Yuusuke Urameshi. Heard about your eating disorder, so I figured I'd get you something to help."

Raizen shook his head. "The only thing which would help is to eat the flesh of a human once more, something which I've sworn to never do again."

Yuusuke grinned. Reaching into his Pocket he pulled out a small bag and tossed it to the Demon Lord. "Think again pops. Try one of these and you'll be good as new."

Raizen quirked an eye and opened the bag curiously, revealing several small beans. Raizen couldn't help himself, bursting out into laughter.

"You bring me a sack of beans to sate my thousand year hunger?!"

Yuusuke just grinned expectantly and began to perform a few stretches. "Yep. I don't expect you to get it, but I got those from an interesting place with a group called the Z Warriors. Took the place of a guy named Vegeta. Anyway, those are called Senzu Beans. One of those babies can fix any injury and keep you full for a month. I figure you plant whatever you don't eat, and your hunger problem is history."

Raizen passed his gaze between his descendent and the bag he held for a moment considerately, before shrugging. He ate a bean.

-x-x-x-x-

Several miles away in two different locations, the remaining two Demon Lords simultaneously turned to face the world shattering release of Youki.

In his castle Yomi frowned, he didn't know how but Raizen had against all odds regained his legendary strength. If that was the case, he would need to rework his previous plans.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Yuusuke grinned maniacally at the restored form of the closest thing he had to a father figure. Raizen was emitting more energy than even Broly at his best.

"Hahaha! Now that's what I'm talking about! C'mon old man, fight me! I need a challenge!"

Turning to face his heir, Raizen returned the grin. It had been far too long since he'd had a decent fight.

* * *

8.14 – (LordCirce)

[Psyren]

Ageha blinked. The last thing he remembered, he and Amamiya had just been getting home from rescuing Number 7 from the underground lab. Now he was standing in an alleyway, surrounded by a bunch of street toughs.

"Who's this guy?" "You pickin' a fight wit' us?" "He says he need ta speak wit' Hondo!"

Ageha stared blankly. This was...the past!

"WHAT THE HELL!"

Hondo, a massive bruiser with slicked green hair, took a step back as Ageha screamed at the sky, before dropping his head and beginning to mutter to himself.

"...razzin' suped Nemesis Q...flikn save er frazzin life..."

"You come 'ere, call me out, then think you can ignore me? YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Hondo charged forward, his fists held high.

-x-x-x-x-

Ten seconds later, Ageha stood panting in the alleyway. The entire gang was unconscious on the ground around the beaten form of Hondo. Ageha stared at his hand. His powers were...not gone, but way weaker than they should have been. He had managed to pull out Burst to amplify his movements and take down the toughs, but he hadn't been able to access his true power of Melchsee's Door. Which was probably a good thing, as it would have been total overkill for these clowns.

As best as Ageha could tell, he had been sent to the past, to the day right before he first received the card that would send him to Psyren. Which meant...

'I have to go through all of that all over again!' Ageha screamed mentally, before a shout behind him caught his attention.

"Yo, Ageha. You were brutal."

Ageha turned to face the voice. His two friends, Saka and Hiro, were running up to him. Ageha paused. He hadn't seen, or even thought about, these guys in what felt like years. They had been good friends, but dealing with the Psyren situation had ate up all of his time and attention.

"Yo. Yeah, I just thought of something that pissed me off, and took it out on them."

The two of them shook their heads, then started chatting about school work. Meanwhile, Ageha frowned and focused inward, trying to feel out is suddenly unresponsive power.

-x-x-x-x-

"I'M LATE!"

Ageha was running through the park, the night sky glowing faintly overhead from the light pollution from the city. He had slacked off at Saka's house, zoning out while trying to sort out his abilities, only to lose track of time. He had no desire to sit through one of his sister's lectures again.

*Ring Ring*

Ageha froze, then turned to stare at the payphone he was just passing. This was it. He couldn't believe he had forgotten, but this was where he would get the card, and where...

Ageha yanked the phone up. "HEY, WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?!"

 _ **"HEY, WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?!"**_ His own voice echoed out of the phone. Spinning around, Ageha leapt up towards the figure that had just appeared on the roof. Nemesis Q, the face of Grigori Number 7. Shaped like an awkward looking scarecrow, with a birdlike helmet and long fingers, it was holding a mobile phone in its hand. The moment Ageha leapt at it, it jumped up out of reaching with an odd warbling cry.

"Number Seven! Why'd you send me to the past?!"

Nemesis Q stumbled in mid-air, flailing in shock, and the payphone started ringing again. Ageha snatched it up.

 _ **"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT NAME!?"**_ Number Seven's voice echoed out of the machine, blaringly loud.

"I met you in the future! We freaking beat Ouroboros and stopped your brother and went to rescue you, only for you dump me back here. What gives?"

The line was silent for a long time. "...I have no idea what you are talking about."

Ageha groaned. "Just great. Now I have to..."

 **"IT IS TOO DANGEROUS FOR YOU TO KNOW THESE THINGS."**

Ageha barely had time to process that statement before he felt Nemesis Q's hand grab him from behind. His breath seized in his chest, and the world faded to black.

-x-x-x-x-

"Who's this guy?" "You pickin' a fight wit' us?" "He says he need ta speak wit' Hondo!"

Ageha staggered, stared around at the alleyway, then raised his hands to the sky. "FFFFUUU-"

* * *

8.15 – (Harry Leferts)

[Land Before Time/Rurouni Kenshin]

Littlefoot sipped his tea as he watched the red haired man across from him. His distinctive cross-like scar on one cheek making him stand out a bit. "You... want to know why I want to know how to fight?"

Nodding, the man sipped his tea with a gentle smile. "Yes, this One wishes to know why one as young as you wishes to know how to use a sword."

A slight chuckle escaped from Littlefoot as he looked down into his tea. "I'm not that young actually... and sometimes I feel older then I should." That caused the man across from him to raise an eyebrow. "As for why I want to learn how to fight with a sword from the best, I want to be able to protect those I love and care for. My friends who are my family and the woman that I love..."

With a hum, the man closed his eyes as he set down his tea. "This One would like to remind you that a sword is a weapon, it is used to kill. Do you want to kill to protect?"

There was a frown on Littlefoot's face as he looked off into the distance. "I know that swords are weapons and designed to kill. But I also think it depends on what you are using that ability for. I want to be able to protect my friends and loved ones to the best of my ability." Having closed one eye, he missed the red haired man opening one of his. "Do I want to kill? No, not really and I go out of my way not to kill. But I will if there is no choice between killing and saving one of those I care for. I'll gladly tarnish myself for them."

Hearing a chuckle, Littlefoot opened his eyes to see the man tilt his head to the side with a wide-eyed stare. "Oro? They are that important to you?"

Slowly, Littlefoot nodded. "Yeah... they are. We're close as family and even though sometimes we bicker and argue with each other, that helps cement that we're family when we brush that all away. We'd gladly fight and die for each other if it came down to it, but that is why I want to do this. So that they don't have to. I've seen..." He shook his head with a sigh. "I've been close to losing them before. And I never want to be that close again."

As Littlefoot continued to explain his reasoning, the man seemed to stare into his soul. Finally, he looked over the Looper in front of him. 'Hmm... he does have the right physique for it if I ever teach him...' Then a smile bloomed on his face as he reached out and clapped Littlefoot on the shoulder. "Then this One would be proud to teach you what you wish to know."

His eyes wide, Littlefoot bowed a bit. "Thank you, Himura Kenshin-Sama. I shall strive to be a student that you would be proud of."

Chuckling, Kenshin waved him off. "This One would say that if you use any such skills to protect those that cannot protect themselves or to protect those you care for, then you already are."

Standing up, the man helped Littlefoot to his feet. "Come, we should continue this back at the dojo…"

* * *

8.16 – (Harosata)

[Assassination Classroom/Godzilla]

It was another Looping day in the assassination classroom. As usual, Koro-Sensei was taking attendance while everyone was firing at him.

"...Isogai, Justice, Karma...are you Awake? Nagisa, please Wake up...Kaya-Hm?"

Koro-Sensei zoomed over to the windows. "Does this classroom practice emergency drills?"

"Stop firing!" Class representative Isogai walked up to the window. "The school does. Our classroom isn't outfitted with alarms, yet we're supposed to get down to the campus when they ring the bells. Don't tell they're doing it."

"No, they're not bothering to stay on school grounds. I wonder wh-" Koro-Sensei squinted. "Nyufufufu...It looks like I'm going to get that rematch, Godzilla!"

And Koro-Sensei zoomed off.

"Wait, did he just say Godzilla?" Nagisa asked. Fortunately, Karasuma was Awake and in class, so there wasn't much panic getting off the mountain.

-x-x-x-x-

While the students have gone down the mountain in groups, all the Awake students and Karasuma was in one such group. This made it easy for them to discuss things, especially as Nagisa remembered a certain detail. "Did Koro-Sensei fight Godzilla before?"

"He Replaced King Kong in one Loop. I know since I was in the expedition that Loop." Karasuma admitted. "I won't bother with all the details, but at the part where King Koro would have grabbed Irina and climbed up the skyscraper, Godzilla decided to show up."

Terasaka rolled his eyes. "And the octopus wins. End of story."

Karasuma shook his head. "No, he lost that time."

Terasaka blinked. "Wait, that doesn't make sense. The octopus can move at Mach 20 minimum; Godzilla wouldn't have beaten him."

Karma quickly made the connection. "It's because he's bigger that he's slower."

"Eh?"

"Karma's right. They were many laws at work, but the basic one was Newton's Second Force of Law: the target's force is equal to its mass by acceleration." Karasuma lectured as he walked over a fallen branch. "Koro-Sensei has enough force to tear the moon, and all of you took the trip to Hawaii, so you know that he can accelerate quickly."

"But King Koro has more mass. If he were to punch the moon with the same force as Baseline, then he would be moving slower as a result." Karasuma hoped the lecture sank in.

"There's also other factors like air resistance and the fact that a bigger mass means that he needs more energy to make his tentacles work." Kayano quipped in.

Karasuma confirmed them. "He still moved quickly compared to Godzilla, but he wasn't fast enough to dodge his atomic breath. I thought he had stopped fretting over that fight, but apparently I was wrong."

Nagisa looked as the King of Monsters was trying to swat the equivalent of a fly. "Are you sure Koro-Sensei can win this time?"

Karasuma frowned. "All I can tell you is that a kill is a kill whether you use a boulder or a bullet. Though whether it hits is another question."

* * *

8.17 – (TrueZero2)

[Toriko/Harry Potter]

" _So, do you think that this guy's a Looper?"_ Harry whispered to Hermione, looking at the one who had Replaced Neville for this Loop.

" _It's certainly possible. We'd best wait and see though."_ Hermione replied, the new person was currently sound asleep, with a toad in a bowl on his lap.

" _He's in for a rough start though, considering the stuff Neville goes through this year."_ Ron added, recalling things like the Remembrall, the Flying Lesson and all of the times Malfoy would target him.

A loud croak from the toad though was enough to wake the newcomer up. "Huh? Toriko?" He asked drowsily, before a look of realization appeared on his face. "Wait a minute. Where am I?"

"Morning." Harry said, "You were out like a light for a while there."

"I was?" The new boy said, "But the last thing I remember was someone, I think it was Teppei, tearing out my heart and crushing it."

"Bloody hell, is that a thing in your Loop?" Ron asked.

"Ron, he's clearly new. We have a job to do, remember?" Hermione said, "Just breathe, we can explain what's happening, but first… has time been repeating for you?"

"Yeah, why? Wait, you know what's happening to me?!"

"We do." Harry said, "Before we explain things though, what's your name? I'm Harry Potter, this is Ron Weasley,"

"Hi there." Ron waved.

"And she's Hermione Granger." Harry finished.

"Hello." Hermione said politely.

"I-I'm Komatsu… Komatsu Longbottom?" Komatsu replied, clearly confused.

"We'll cover that in a moment. Hermione, how long do we have before we reach Hogwarts?"

"Given where we are right now, I'd say about 3 hours minimum." Hermione replied. "So I'd say we've got enough time to do the basics."

"Basics?" Komatsu asked, nervous.

"It's nothing major." Ron replied, "The three of us are going through a Time Loop as well. Since this looks like your first time Looping into another world, it's up to us to explain to you just what's happening. Completely safe, trust me."

Komatsu didn't say anything, nervously nodding instead.

"Alright then, take it away Hermione." Harry said.

"Thank you. Now then Komatsu, this all started with a giant tree…"

* * *

8.18 - (Me)

[Code Geass/Fullmetal Alchemist/Ranma/Bleach/Yu Yu Haksuho/Black Lagoon]

Lelouch stared in confusion at the situation he found himself in. He appeared to be in some kind of cavern based on his surroundings and was currently standing atop a giant statue's head. In front of him were several ghostly images of people, each standing atop a different finger of the statue's hands. Standing beside him was C.C, who going by the questioning look she was giving him appeared to also be Awake.

Based on what his memories were telling him he was in Naruto's Branch again, but this time at least he wasn't the Snake Sannin. C.C still had the pictures from that unfortunate event framed in her Pocket. However any further thought on the issue was put on hold as a familiar irritated voice echoed loudly around the cave-like room they were in.

"Dammit! Alright who fucked up this time?" the ephemeral figure of Edward Elric demanded. The former State Alchemist wore a cloak two sizes too long, his hair covering his left eye and he was staring intently at his hands.

"Brother, calm down. It might not be anybody's fault, it does happen on its own too," This of course came from the gentle giant Alphonse Elric.

"Who frikkin cares. I'm Itachi Fucking Uchiha! Hell yeah!" A third voice called out, Ranma's wide grin nearly splitting his face beneath a pair of slowly spinning three-tomoe Sharingan.

"I'm with him. Who gives a damn, as long as I get to fight someone strong," a massive figure with spiked hair stated. The large pink bundle of spikes on his back suddenly wrapped itself around the taller figures shoulders, before speaking in the voice of Yachiru Kusajishi.

"Hey! You think we can find Ichi this time?"

"Heh, I wouldn't be surprised. Probably gonna be part of that Leaf Village." Kenpachi Zaraki grunted with a smirk.

The cavern was silent for several seconds until Ranma spoke up. "Is anyone else suddenly scared to death that she now has the ability to turn into an intelligent sword made of razor sharp spikes that can eat energy?"

Immediately almost every hand in the group was raised.

"Tch, bunch of pansies."

"Agreed, after dealing with the detective's idiocy your brat is hardly a concern."

Now that was a voice Lelouch hadn't heard in a while. Not since he found himself Replacing Shinobu Sensui in the Spirit Detective's Branch. Removing the orange spiral-shaped mask he wore, Hiei gave a nod of greeting to Lelouch which he returned.

"Yes well, it could be worse. Although I find a certain irony in the idea of now being a plant after utilizing them for so many years," the voice of the person next to the previous speaker sounded, although considering the fact that he was half emerged from the wall it called into question whether they were a person at all this Loop. Nevertheless, Lelouch made a mental note to remember to ask Kurama for a rematch; their last chess game had gotten interrupted by the end of the Loop.

"Ha, at least you aren't some kind of freaking tentacle zombie ain't that right Dutchy boy?" an unfamiliar female figure wielding a three bladed scythe laughed as she slung an arm around the equally unfamiliar person next to her.

"Shut it Two-Hands," the tall figure grumbled, only causing the woman to laugh harder.

"Quite an interesting group, isn't it Lelouch?" C.C spoke with her familiar snark, an amused smirk on her face. "It looks as if we aren't the only ones feeling a bit Loopy."

"Indeed that would appear to be the case," he responded with his own brand of dry wit.

"Hold up, did you say Lelouch? As in Demon Emperor Lelouch Vi Britannia?" the scythe wielding woman asked with an interested look.

"You know this guy Revy?" the person next to her asked.

"Yeah, I read the manga he was in a couple of the times Rock and me got dragged to Japan. Hell, this guy could probably give Balalaika and Chang a run for their money even without his mind rape eyes. Oh and speaking of which, I swear to God pretty boy if you even think of using that Geass shit on me I'll string you up with your own intestines you got that?"

Lelouch's winced. Groaning quietly to himself he held his head in his hand as he massaged the bridge of his nose. "Understood, however seeing as how I don't believe we've met I feel introductions are in order."

"Screw introductions. I wanna know who fucked up this time. Last time I heard of this many Anchors in the same place was either The Crash or the clusterfuck Ranma caused."

"Hey it's not like I meant to blow up the Solar System, I was frikkin bored as hell and I poked the wrong Ley line. It could have happened to anyone!" the ancient martial artist poorly attempted to defend himself.

"Yeah, anyone with the power of a god and the self control of a bull in a china shop!" the shorter Anchor argued.

"Brother please, this isn't the time for this," the surprisingly young sounding giant attempted to interfere.

"Stay out of this Al, this is between me and gramps over there," the irritated blonde responded.

"Hey, who the heck are you callin gramps pipsqueak?" Ranma shouted loudly.

"PIPSQUEAK! That's it! C'mere you, I don't care if you are like a zillion years old I'll still kick your cursed ass!" The furious alchemist raged, barely held back by his larger brother.

"Are they always like this?" the tall figure Replacing Kakuzu asked the others.

The plant man growing from the wall gave a resigned chuckle. "I'm afraid so. Seeing as how our more hot-headed members are indisposed at the moment, I suppose I shall have to take over from here. I am Yoko Kurama, and this standoffish character beside me is Hiei. The two arguing are Ranma Saotome and Edward Elric along with Edward's brother Alphonse. The large man with the unusual hairstyle is named Kenpachi Zaraki and his sword is his adopted daughter Yachiru Kusajishi. To their left are Lelouch vi Britannia, or Zero depending on his mood, and C.C. It's a pleasure to meet you," he introduced politely.

"Likewise. As Revy mentioned the names Dutch," the now identified man said, pointing his thumb at his companion.

"It's a pleasure. Introductions aside, I don't suppose anyone knows why we're all here? As Edward said it has been quite a good while since the last time so many of us were all together and Awake at the same time," Kurama asked curiously.

Lelouch frowned, before sighing loudly.

"For the record? It is inadvisable to equip a floating platform designed to kill the Collective Unconscious of mankind contained within a sidespace in reality, with a warp drive for the purpose of using it to take your date for a picnic in orbit around Alpha Centauri."

There was silence for several moments before Ed turned to smirk at Ranma. "I guess it looks like we have a new record for the biggest dumbass screw-up. How do you intend to top taking a god for a joyride?"

"...Shut up. Alright, so then. Introductions and explanations done, what's our plan? It doesn't look like Naruto is Awake yet, so I'm all for having Orochimaru create a horde of rabid fangirls and sending them after the little pest," Ranma stated, clapping his hands briskly with a wicked smile.

"You're never going to let that clone thing go are you girly boy?" Kenpachi asked with a smirk, his question drawing matching smirks from several of the others.

"HELL NO! That shit was sick and wrong! No amount of suffering will ever make up for the horrors I saw on that planet," the pigtailed boy denied in a haunted tone.

Watching the group's interaction Lelouch decided that he really didn't want to know.

* * *

8.1 – What self-respecting Vampire doesn't like Tang?  
8.2 – Tanks commander meet Dragon rider.  
8.3 – Sidious isn't Awake. The Dark Side's black-market just had a sale on super-powers that week.  
8.4 – Pastel Pony's Pocket production procedure promptly precluded.  
8.5 – Deck construction is so much harder when the cards keep switching places with the player.  
8.6 – Even mind-numbing labor is better than mind-numbing stupidity.  
8.7 – Luffy's Pirate Crew Checklist: Desert Princess? Check. One more and that's Bingo!  
8.8 – Proper southern gentlemen are well encouraged to learn the noble art of japery.  
8.9 – Some people don't handle criticism well.  
8.10 – Farming makes you strong.  
8.11 – Ah yes, football. Truly there is no better way to train your supersoldiers in the art of combat.  
8.12 – He's just a guy, who's an Avatar for fun.  
8.13 – Nothing like a bag of magic beans to kick-start some quality family bonding time.  
8.14 – Yggdrasil needs your help. 10,000 yen oughta cover it, right?  
8.15 – Hiten Mitsurugi Kyōryū  
8.16 – Godzilla vs Sensei. Round two, FIGHT!  
8.17 – Komatsu is going to love the Dining Hall. Self-catering plates, now that's a spell a chef can really appreciate.  
8.18 – First meetings are fun.


	9. Chapter 9

9.1 – (Harosata)

[Assassination Classroom]

Fact: It has been more than a year.

Koro-Sensei knew something was wrong with this fact since the Earth should have been destroyed at that time. After all, he was the one who set up the deadline.

And so Koro-Sensei destroyed the world.

Fact: He is now teaching high school girls with...generous assets.

* * *

9.2 – (DrTempo)

[DBZ/Ranma]

Bulma yawned as she flew towards the site of the Cell Games. Ever since these repeats had started, she had decided to learn martial arts so she could help her friends out. She thought of the other person experiencing these resets, Goku, and how he was handling the situation.

Goku was, for lack of a better word, bored. His strength was now far beyond even Omega Shenron, and that was without even going Super Saiyan. Goku had always enjoyed the thrill of fighting strong opponents, but now, no one was stronger than Goku.

And he hated it. As he had said, "What good is being so strong if I can't have a challenging fight?"

Bulma saw the site of the Cell Games, and landed gracefully. As usual, everyone was here, but there was a new fighter: a young man wearing a red Chinese shirt and black pants, with his black hair in a pigtail. He looked familiar to Bulma, but she couldn't remember from where. To her shock, though, that man was now entering the ring. Bulma powered up in an attempt to stop him

-x-x-x-x-

Ranma Saotome walked towards Cell, and as he looked at his foe, he knew that this was going to be an easy fight for him. Cell stood no chance at all. Bulma then flew right next to him, and as Ranma noticed this, Bulma said, "Whomever you are, don't try to fight Cell. He is way too strong for you!"

Ranma chuckled. "Don't worry, Bulma. I got this." As Bulma blinked in surprise, Ranma quietly asked, "So, who else besides you has been experiencing time resetting itself?" Bulma pointed to Goku, and the pigtailed man grinned.

"Good. I'll explain things in a few minutes." While this conversation had been going on, Cell had decided to attack Ranma from behind, but to Cell's surprise, Ranma sent him flying with a mighty chop into a nearby boulder, and everyone looked at Ranma in shock.

The Cell Games were over. Cell had lost via ring out.

-x-x-x-x-

Goku was just as shocked as everyone else was. Goku then grinned. "Now that's ironic, isn't it? Cell got eliminated in the same way he usually defeats Hercule." Goku was surprised at the power he had sensed from Ranma even more, though.

 _Whomever this guy is, he is strong. As strong as I am. I could feel his power for a moment there, and...he might even be stronger than me. Maybe these resets won't be boring after all._

Goku then saw Cell flying above the ring, clearly unhappy he'd lost. Cell growled in anger, and charged Ranma, who simply delivered a powerful punch to the gut. Just as happened originally thanks to Gohan doing the same thing, 18 was freed, and Cell ended up going to his Semi Perfect form. Ranma landed another powerful punch to the gut, and 17 was freed as well. Cell was angry, but before he could react, Ranma sent him flying into the air, and Goku wasted no time.

"KAMEHAMEHA!"

And Cell was toast. Ranma then grinned. "That was fun! Anyone up for pizza?"

Cue massive face fault.

-x-x-x-x-

Shortly thereafter, Bulma and Goku heard Ranma (who Bulma had remembered was the main character of one of her favorite manga) explain the Loops to them. In the process, they learned Bulma was what was called the "Anchor" of their Loop. Apparently, since Goku had chosen to stay dead after the Cell Games (until Majin Buu had been awakened, at least), he was disqualified from being the Anchor, meaning Bulma was the one chosen for the role. They had also learned of the fact that Goku's adventures were chronicled in one of Ranma's favorite manga back in his Home Loop. It had been quite the surprise.

After everything had been explained, Goku asked, "Ranma, how strong are you? I could sense your power when you sent Cell flying. You're a lot stronger than I am, and I think you were holding back."

Ranma grinned, and threw a device on the ground. "Before you ask, Bulma, that'll prevent anyone from sensing our energy. Very well, Goku, how's this?" Ranma powered up, and Goku grinned.  
"At last. Someone stronger than me. Is the guy you mentioned..the one called Superman...this strong?"

Ranma could only laugh. "Why am I not surprised you asked that, Goku? Yeah, Superman is really strong. I doubt he'll ever agree to fight you anytime soon. Besides, I can kick his butt any day of the week. Let's go, Goku!"

Goku powered up to Super Saiyan 4, and cracked his knuckles. "Agreed. After this, maybe you can teach me a few new moves!"

"As long as you teach me some of your moves, Goku."

The two Loopers charged, and Goku smiled.

At last, he had found a new challenge.

 _Someday..I'll become even stronger than you, Ranma. Though I doubt you'll stop training either._

At least I have a reason to keep getting stronger now.

* * *

9.3 – (GioGio)

[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure]

Johnny could not help but give out a low sigh as he rode on top of Slow Dancer next to Gyro, who was going to talk about the Cheese Song very soon.

The loops started almost immediately after he died to save his son from his wife's disease. He died because he was selfish for the first time in years and asked the Corpse to pass his wife's illness to a stranger in order to save her life. Unfortunately, his son was technically a stranger, since he was just born. So, in order to atone for his selfish desire, he begged the Corpse to pass the disease to himself instead of his son.

It complied, and soon after he died. Leaving his son and wife alone in the world.

However, the darkness of death was only momentary. He awoke, completely unharmed and in his room, still crippled, on the day that he first met Gyro Zeppeli. The day before the Steel Ball Run race.

At first he thought that he was dreaming, or it was like that rumor that your life flashed before your eyes before you died. But Johnny learned that he was actually back. Back to the very beginning. Back where his adventure first started.

He still had Tusk in its Fourth Stage for some reason, but unfortunately could not walk. His body was still crippled from the waist down, just like it had been on that day. And when he tried to meet Gyro again, the man would not give him the time of day since he didn't impress him with his drive. It didn't take Johnny long to figure out he was in some sort of loop, where he would continue to wake up on that same day in that same location regardless of what else happened.

So, Johnny was forced to repeat motions with his first meeting with Gyro. After that, Johnny tried to change things. Like make sure Pocoloco died in the forest, using Tusk in an attempt to make sure the branches snapped his neck instead of just knocking him down. But he was too lucky and STILL lived. He even made sure Gyro's steel ball didn't disrupt Sandman's path so he wouldn't be demoted to 21st place. He tried to take routes that would allow him and Gyro to avoid both terrorists and the President's hit men. And when it came down to it, Johnny tried everything to make sure Diego and Valentine died when he and Gyro first encountered them.

But it didn't really matter. Sometimes Johnny would die from some stupid mistake. Sometimes it was Diego's dinosaur form biting through his neck, other times it was contacting with his own copy brought by Valentine's Stand. Sometimes he and Gyro both survived the race, sometimes it was only Johnny. Sometimes Johnny won the Steel Ball Run in first place, and sometimes it was Gyro in first and him in second. Sometimes, neither of them won.

In the end, Johnny would die and eventually return to that same room on that same morning. Sure, sometimes there were people he never saw before. Some even claimed that they were 'Loopers' like himself. But in the end, he would always return to the beginning.

Sometimes Johnny hated his situation. Why couldn't he be brought earlier? So that he could prevent Nicholas' death? To try and make peace with his father? To stop himself from being such an idiot and getting crippled in the first place?

"Hey! Johnny!" Gyro shouted, snapping Johnny out of his musings. "You listening to me?"

"Oh, totally." Johnny lied through his teeth. "It was about something cheesy right?"

"It's the Cheese Song!" Gyro corrected with a scowl on his face. And trust me, it's great. You see, it goes like this..." Gyro then cleaned his throat and began singing, "Pizza mozzarella~! Pizza mozzarella~! Rella, rella, rella, rella~! Rella, rella, rella, rella~! Rella, rella, rella, rella~! Pizza mozzarella~!" He then grinned at Johnny. "That's how it goes! What do you think? The second verse repeats with 'Gorgonzola~! Zola, zola, zola, zola~!'."

Johnny knew it was a horrible song. Just like its name, it was incredibly cheesy. When he first heard it, Johnny sarcastically replied that it was great and they should start a band.

Now however...

"It's awesome Gyro!" Johnny exclaimed full-heartedly with a grin. "Man, it's got a cool beat. I'm gonna try it too!" Johnny cleared his own throat and sang out, "Pizza mozzarella~! Pizza mozzarella~! Rella, rella, rella, rella~! Rella, rella, rella, rella~! Rella, rella, rella, rella~! Pizza mozzarella~!"

Gyro's grin grew extra wide as he shouted, "I know right! Say, we should write out a score for this as soon as we can! Nyo ho~!"

Both Gyro and Johnny laughed as their horses continued forward, riding forward in their journey.

The life of a Looper was a difficult one. But Johnny was thankful for his situation for one reason.

He got to be with his best friend again.

* * *

9.4 – (Harosata)

[Assassination Classroom]

Koro-Sensei decided not to destroy the familiar and intact Earth. Perhaps that other school had been a dream, and so he went to his classroom.

Now he knew something was wrong. His students were looking at him with some sort of shock and confusion. However, what immediately caught his attention were the students who were not there.

Karma, a genius student who likes to make trouble, previously suspended for attacking others students at school.

Itona, the transfer student who once held tentacles, now a true student after his tutor abandoned him.

Ritsu, a military-grade AI in a big black box bolted in the back of the room, who rarely gets upgrades in the form of on-site maintenance and find phones more mobile than moving said box with the exception of certain assassinations.

The absence of one of these students alone was a big indicator that something was off.

"Just because you're eager to start teaching here does not mean you should be here yet." Several men in suits entered the classroom with a cart in tow, filled with the other missing contents of the room. Anti-Sensei knives and bullets.

Ah, this scene looked familiar. Now that he thought about it, his fellow teacher Irina was not here either. How could he forget that big detail? "Sorry, Karasuma. Why don't you introduce your friends?"

Karasuma ignored him and turned to the classroom. "I'll be frank. This creature destroyed the moon and your job is to assassinate him."

"...Eh?"

-x-x-x-x-

Karasuma had said what he needed to say to the classroom. Their target moves at Mach 20 speeds. Their target wants to teach at this classroom, making this location an easy place to access him. The existence of the target is worldwide secret so no one outside their classroom should be told. Anyone who successfully assassinates him will be rewarded with ten billion yen.

Naturally, the classroom complied.

Karasuma barely stepped out of the classroom when he frowned. "What do you want?"

"Just a question, really." Koro-Sensei grinned. "How would one travel back in time?"

"If we knew such a method, we would prevent you from being created." Karasuma growled. "That being said, the most common theory for time travel is to move faster than the speed of light, which even you can't do."

"I see." Koro-Sensei had to agree with him. He just came back to this discussion after grabbing some mochi from a Japanese Factory, not fast enough to catch the last five words. "Very well. Do you plan to teach?"

"Only if it becomes necessary." Karasuma walked away.

Koro-Sensei looked to the moon. The one that he had turned into a permanent crescent with his speed alone. "The speed of light? I can understand if I achieved that at the end of the year, but in the beginning and in such a way that I was sent to what could be an alternate Earth? No, something much bigger is happening, but what?"

* * *

9.5 – (Crisis)

[DBZ]

Krillin had to admit, the visiting Looper Goku had met was a big one. Somewhere in the nine-ten foot range easily he'd guess (and hadn't bothered to try and measure). He was also a man of few words, usually communicating with feral grunts, growls, and physical violence during the numerous occasions it was called for. He also wore a very concealing trenchcoat and fedora from the very big and tall store that kept his face and features other than his massive clawed (or was it taloned? Krillin got those mixed up sometimes) hands and feet in perpetual shadows.

"GRAAAAAAHHHH!"

"RROOOOAAAARRR!"

Oh, and he was also currently trying his hand at fighting Broly. "Goku, are you sure this guy's ready for Broly?" Krillin asked. "I mean... it's Broly. Even Ranma had serious trouble with the guy the first several times they clashed."

"Well," Goku scratched his head as the visiting Looper was punched into a cliff face. "He seemed really insistent on giving it a shot..."

"RROOOOAAAARRR!" the visiting Looper leaped out of the crater he'd made and barreled at Broly with all the unswerving determination of a runaway train. The ultimate Saiyan responded with a chi bolt that created a massive explosion on impact with the visiting Looper. The guy just kept coming, hardly even slowing down from the impact.

"GRAAAAAAHHHH!" Broly yelled as he began throwing more and more chi blasts rapidly, the impacts hitting the visiting Looper with force that he simply ignored as he charged ever closer.

"Damn..." Krillin blinked as he saw the apparent juggernaut keep going under the onslaught. "Now he's on fire..."

Indeed, the visiting Looper's magically reinforced trenchcoat had been ignited by Broly's barrage and blazed brightly as the wearer ignored the flames and kept charging. Krillin paid close attention as the Looper got ever closer to Broly, eager to perhaps finally find out what the Looper looked like and who he was.

The chi explosions got right up to Broly who threw a punch into the smoke and flames, and apparently missed given how overextended he looked. In response a massive clawed hand shot out of the flames and smoke, the arm still wrapped in the burning remnants of the trenchcoat, and grabbed Broly's head before pile-driving the ultimate Saiyan face-first into the ground. The arm pulled back and repeated the motion a few times before tossing Broly no more than a foot into the air like a volleyball player setting up for a serve. The expected blow that flung Broly across the ground like a skipping stone came, not from an arm or a foot, but from a thick, long, tail that Krillin was certain could never have been hidden by the visiting Looper's trenchcoat. At least not without space-folding magic or something similar.

A very familiar tail at that.

"Is that...?" Krillin blinked as the flames and smoke cleared to show a muscular bipedal dinosaur. One with a therapod-style head with lots and lots of sharp carnivorous teeth, thick arms, even thicker legs, a long winding tail, and multiple rows of spiky plates running the length of his spine from his neck to his tail. Plates that few in the multiverse would fail to recognize, even if the one whose back they were on was over several dozen floors shorter than usual.

"Well, he did kind of shrink himself for this," Goku admitted, "but yeah."

"Godzilla was here and you didn't tell me?!" Krillin screamed in Goku's face as the king of monsters and the ultimate Saiyan traded blows again.

"I didn't think it was a big deal!" Goku pleaded frantically.

"A _big deal_?!" Krillin started whipping cameras of all types (including self-mobilized robotic ones that immediately started filming as Godzilla blasted an angry Broly in the face with his breath weapon) from his Subspace Pocket, along with a reporter's outfit, several microphones, and a giant bell like those rung next to a boxing ring. "You _know_ I'm an official announcer for the Kaiju Wrestling Federation! I need to know when the title holder shows up!"

Broly yelled ferociously and retaliated with a breath weapon of his own, only to get clothes-lined for his efforts.

"Welcome once again KWF fans to a special match already underway!" Krillin began reporting to a camera while Goku stared in blank amazement at how his friend was taking this. "The reigning champion Godzilla versus Unawake challenger Broly!"

Broly began doing a familiar man scream as his muscles grew and his hair turned gold and spiky. Godzilla simply sneered and roared even louder right back.

"It looks like it's gonna be one knock-down drag-out of a fight today folks!"

* * *

9.6 – (Crisis)

[JoJo/Megaman]

Giorno was stunned. And bleeding. The former a result of the latter. He hadn't been harmed so easily in... oh, hundreds of Loops now. Not since he'd managed to maintain Gold Experience Requiem as his default Stand. That this... mad scientist managed it so easily was... _impossible_.

"I must admit, figuring out how to bypass your guardian was quite the trick," the voice of the local villainous mad scientist emanated from the speakers surrounding the area. "The power to nullify everything that is sent against both you and it really does seem invincible, does it not?"

Giorno shivered from the cold as he was blasted with fire from his mechanical opponent. That was also impossible. Fire was supposed to _burn_. Not _freeze_.

"Much more so with how it reacts automatically against anything meant to nullify its abilities in turn, negating them first. Plus, there's not documentation on how it works anywhere, meaning that even you don't truly understand how it does this. Very tricky," the broadcast voice continued. "But it was no match for my genius!"

His stand shook its head at him as it tried, and failed, once more to nullify his opponent's programming. What in the world was going on?

"It was quite simple, really," the voice taunted him. "If I can't make it weaker, I can make it _stronger_."

Giorno scrunched his face up in confusion as the madman cackled in glee. What in the world did he mean?

"Your guardian's nullifying ability only works because his power is in precise balance. So if I make it stronger then instead of reducing something to zero, it reduces it _past_ zero, effectively inverting it. Fire becomes ice, acid becomes base, and force inwards becomes force outwards. And my creations? Just a failsafe in their directives. When your guardian messes with their hostile programming, the failsafe makes that programming peaceful for as long as your guardian's influence is exerted and hostile again when it is removed. It took a bit of work to make the transition seamless, but now all of my creations will attack you no matter what your guardian does to convince them otherwise. Because if it tries, then it is reversing a non-hostile entity to a hostile one and if it doesn't then things proceed as normal."

"Gah!" Giorno cried out as he was blasted into a wall. Damnit, he was getting his ass kicked. He should have never let his stand's original abilities stagnate over the Loops like he had. He was too out of practice to use them effectively.

"And don't try to direct your guardian's attention to me. This is only a recording. I'm not involved in this directly. Heck, I'm not even watching right now! And because I'm not actively doing anything against you, your guardian can't stop me!"

Giorno grit his teeth as that all sunk in. He was screwed.

"That will teach you to oppose the will of the great Dr. Wily!"

* * *

9.7 – (Harosata)

[Assassination Classroom]

The military had managed to track Koro-Sensei into the mountains. He was in a metal pod reading a naughty magazine, supposedly for the purpose of keeping him warm in this client. They dare not risk attacking him in the understanding that he could easily flee.

If the military could come closer, they might not realize that "Koro-Sensei" was a bloated tentacle and that Koro-Sensei had made a small cave underneath the pod. He was down here testing his speed for the upcoming assassination with a gun and a stopwatch, and after shooting five tentacles out, he clicked the watch and calculated the time. Then his eyes widened.

"There's no doubt about it. My speed..." Koro-Sensei gulped. He did not like what his calculations suggested. "My Mach 20 speed just went up by a mile per hour!"

Koro-Sensei paced around the cave. "I almost had this time...Looping thing figured out. Destroying the Earth would result in going to that other school before coming back, and letting the world live for one more day past the year also causes it to reset, so no lightspeed involved but no second school either. However, something in my mind keeps telling me that the latter shouldn't be possible, yet the reason is blocked from me even though it's my memory."

"But my speed...it doesn't make sense." Koro-Sensei's tentacles regenerated and he slowed his pacing. "I can do the beam because my body was always capable of that. However, I haven't done any intense training, so how did my speed increase? That would mean my body is getting stronger when time passes, and yet my body hasn't mutated. No, my blocked memories are telling me that something should happen to this body at the end of the year, but whatever it is, I must conclude that this body also resets with time."

"So that means I can improve myself the longer I am stuck here. I can hit Mach 21 if this time model continues on, and my students..." Koro-Sensei looked up, seeing his body double still doing his duty. Now there was an issue. "My students are not experiencing this. How fast will I be before they stop? When will I learn how to apply my Ultimate Defense into Everyday Defense? When do Anti-Sensei materials stop affecting me? What will it mean, becoming a teach who is truly impossible to kill? Should I just slow down?"

Koro-Sensei shook his head as he went to his makeshift bed, grabbing a naughty magazine and plopping down on the sheets. "No, I'll just follow the classroom's example. My Mach 20 speed seems to be enough to keep them on their toes, but there are certain instances that Mach 21 would be useful against certain...assassins. But for now, I'll just have to enjoy the upcoming summer trip. Nyufufu."

* * *

9.8 – (Firehawk242)

[DBZ/Lyrical Nanoha]

"Excelion Mode!"

"Kaio-Ken!"

"How long have they been going at it?" Fate asked as she handed the local Anchor an ice cream cone.

Bulma checked her watch. "About two hours," she said, accepting the cone. "Thanks for getting the snacks."

"You're welcome," Fate said. "Who do you think will win?"

"Does it really matter?" Bulma asked. "Either way they'll end up friends."

"True," Fate said, sitting down next to the Anchor to watch.

"Kame-" Goku said.

"Divine-" Nanoha Takamachi, the Princess of All Saiyans said.

"Hame-"

"BUSTER!"

"HA!"

Two massive beams collided and an explosion rocked the air.

"Let's just hope the planet survives their little bonding exercise," Bulma said.

* * *

9.9 – (GioGio)

"EEK!"

A scream was all it took for Josuke to open his eyes. Something felt heavy on his lower half, probably the dirt that he was buried under. Josuke groaned as he forced himself to crawl out.

The new phenomena that Josuke found himself in started when, one day, he woke up buried underneath the Wall Eye in Morioh again, once more discovered by Yashuo as if for the first time. At first Josuke thought it was some sort of enemy stand, but being bashed over the head by Joshu and waking up buried once again soon dispelled that. Eventually, he was filled in by an orange-haired guy in black robes that he was in a 'loop'. Apparently, his life would continue repeating itself from a fixed point unless he were to die or do something completely wrong.

Josuke soon learned how to repeat his life over and over again, keeping himself from getting bored while also searching for who he truly was. Not much progress was made on that so far, much to Josuke's inner frustration. The mysterious guy that was in the secret room seemed to find new and interesting ways to keep him from learning the truth.

Other than that, Josuke just found new and more interesting ways to get out of the Higashikata estate to visit Yashuo. As if he would spend time cooped up in that place every Loop.

Not to mention Daiya seemed to get more and more clingy with each Loop. Was she a Looper just like him? Josuke could never tell.

 _"Well, might as well get this over with..."_ Not that he hated seeing Yashup, its just that making sure that idiot Joshu didn't bash his brains in was just annoying.

Josuke then looked up to see...

 _"Sakura Haruno?"_

"F-Four..." Sakura muttered to herself in shock, staring at him with wide eyes and a light blush on her cheeks. "H-How do you have four balls...?"

Josuke paid her no mind and just looked around. He wasn't in Morioh. He was in Konoha. _"Great. A Fused Loop?"_ Those never ended well for Josuke.

Seeing a puddle by him, Josuke looked at his own reflection.

His normally dark hair was now spiky with some blond highlights.

Half of his eyes were sky blue.

Worst of all, his right cheek now sported three whisker-like markings.

"Oh you got to be kidding me 'tebayo." Josuke muttered to himself, subtly flinching at the verbal tick that was now instilled on him.

THIS was why he hated Fused Loops. The 'second half' of him that was not Yoshikage Kira was always the person he was Replacing.

Now half of him was Kira, the other half was Naruto.

 **"You think that's bad?"** The Kyuubi asked within his mind. **"Try looking like you're half a sailor robot."**

* * *

9.10 – (Harosata)

[Assassination Classroom]

Koro-Sensei looked at his yellow-headed students. Then at the yellow-headed government agent he was grooming while said agent was trying to stab him with his tentacles. "Why is everyone trying to kill me?"

"You destroyed the moon!"

Koro-Sensei blinked. "Huh, I guess that's a good reason."

* * *

9.11 – (Harosata)

"I can't be dead!"

"The...halo says otherwise." King Yenma was doing a good job at not panicking over the fact that FREIZA THE DESTROYER OF PLANETS was standing in front of him. "Cause of death: punch to the face."

"Impossible! I was in my final form! I don't know how I was forced into it, but a mere punch shouldn't even bruise...me?" Frieza paused as he felt someone materialize behind him. A strange thing, because the insect man who stood behind him frowned just like him. "Who the hell are you?"

"Cell. A fighting machine composed of many fighters, including you, and for some reason, had reached perfect form without consuming two specialized androids." Cell frowned. "And judging from your halo, I died despite having Namekian regeneration."

"Punch to the fa-?" Cell and Frieza turned around as more people popped in. "Is that a Super Saiyan? Is that my brother and father? Is that FRICKING BUU!? What is going on here!?"

Frieza didn't' get much time to wonder as he found himself living again, and his body bathed in a golden hue. Somehow, he felt many times stronger, well beyond even a Kai. He chuckled. "Well, I don't know what happened, but-"

Saitama withdrew his hand, looking down at headless Frieza. "Mr. Dragon, I'm not sure he fulfilled my wish of an enemy I can fight. In fact, I think I've seen that girl three times already."

"The other two were his relatives...And he is a guy." Shenron corrected. "Sadly, that is all the opponents I can give you."

Saitama tilted his head. "Wait, was one of them a God of Destruction? Because I'm pretty sure you haven't called him yet."

Shenron drew back. "You want me to summon Lord Beerus!? Are you sure you wish isn't to 'eradicate all life on the planet'? Because the second one is a lot less painful."

"So, you can summon him." Saitama noted, and Shenron realized his mistake. "Though if you don't want to, I kinda heard that you also has another form fit for fighting. So which one do you want to do?"

"...I wish I was out of here!"

Saitama watched as the eternal dragon quickly flew up past the sky, not bothering to split into seven Dragon Balls. In fact, it doesn't seem like it was planning to do split at all. "Huh, I didn't think wish-granting dragons could grant their own wish."

* * *

9.12 – (GioGio)

[JoJo/Spider-Man]

It was a quiet day in Manhattan, New York. The citizens of the Big Apple were going about their lives, happy that there hadn't been ONE super villain fight that wrecked half the city for a week. At this point, the brawls the Avengers and other superheroes got themselves into were so common that everyone treated them like an annoyance more than anything.

Sure, there WAS the fact that Spider-Man seemed to have a 180 in personality and was beating the ever-loving crap out of any villain or two-bit crook he got his hands on, but at this point everyone was just taking it in stride. They gave it about a few months before some earth-shattering even caused the hero to revert back to his normal self.

Unfortunately, their normalcy was soon interrupted as a body flew out of a Starbucks window and landed on top of a cab, raining glass on the sidewalk.

The SUPERIOR Spider-Man (Delicious Doc Ock in a Crispy Spidey Shell) struggled to push himself up. _"I-Impossible! How could... how could he have struck me so? It felt as if I had been punched in one location for almost a minute!"_

He had originally come to this location to confirm a rumor. A rumor that a good number of the mobs that comprised the world's criminal organization were now bowing down to someone new. A young man who had been able to gather power within a few scant years, one who now even organizations such as AIM respected and low-class villains like Shocker instantly followed. A young man who now controlled over 50% of organized crime within the United States of America, and was both gathering more power within the borders and dipping his hand into the international crime ring.

He, the Superior Spider-Man, had interrogated several hoodlums within the area to confirm that this criminal mastermind was within New York, trying to take advantage of his recent siege of Shadowland and seize whatever assets Wilson Fisk left behind. If he was captured by his, Otto Octavius' hand, then Otto would prove once and for all that he was a superior Spider-Man than Parker ever was!

Unfortunately, he might have made a... few miscalculations.

"*Sigh* Honestly, do you American heroes disturb everyone's morning tea this way?" The new Kingpin of Crime, Giorno Giovanna, asked as he stepped through the door and looked at the 'hero' with a cup of overpriced tea in his hands. Behind him were his top enforcers: Bruno Buccellati, Guido Mista, and Narancia Ghirga. All of them were wearing admirably very fashionable Italian designer clothes, each of them looking at Spider-Man with bored expressions. "I must admit, the tea here is very... _unappetizing_ , but surely there must be a better way to discouraging me from making my purchase."

"What?" Otto asked out loud, not even believing the gall of this young _punk_. Was he mocking him?

Giorno raised an eyebrow and said, "If I must repeat myself, that must mean the listener is unintelligent."

Something within Otto snapped in that instant. No on, NO ONE, called him unintelligent! Otto ignored his own pain and kept towards Giovanna again, fully intending to drag out his rightly deserved punishment...

Suddenly, a golden figure appeared before Giorno, and Otto could only register it for a second before a fist met his face along with the shout of "MUDA!" More fists then met his body. "MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA!" Then finally, one final fist clocked the side of his head. " **MUDA!** "

Giorno watched as 'Spidey' landed on the street, unconscious, and sighed. "So much for having a peaceful loop..."

"Man, would you look at those stupid tights! I still can't believe they actually wear that!" Narancia laughed out loud, clutching his stomach.

"At least it wasn't the Fantastic F-F..." Mista had a bit of trouble getting out the last part due to his phobia of a certain number, but then he breathed in and let out, "Family. I don't think I can deal with those people..."

"You'd think after all these loops you'd get over that ridiculous phobia..." Bruno sighed out while pinching the bridge of his nose.

"No way! That number is still cursed! On my fourth loop I was killed right away! Explain that!" Mista challenged, making Bruno just shake his head.

"H-Holy crap! Spidey got the shit beat out of him!" One man yelled from the crowd gathered around them.

"That's not Spider-Man." Giorno countered as he began walking down the sidewalk as if nothing happened, his friends following behind him. "It's the one you call Doctor Octopus. Call the Avengers and tell them to use a brain scan or something on him and wait for Tony Stark to arrive and examine them."

As the crowd gasped and began circling around the still unconscious Superior Spider-Man, Bruno asked, "So now what are we going to do Giorno?"

Despite himself, Giorno let out a small smirk as he chucked his horrible tasting tea into a garbage can. "We're going to look for a Goblin and explain to him how things are going to work in my Family..."

* * *

9.13 – (Harosata)

[Assassination Classroom/Harry Potter]

"You know, I used to believe there are three constants in the multiverse. Shinji's dad is the worst parent, Umbridge is the worst teacher, and Ree is...the worst..." Harry explained. "But back to the topic. Karma, why didn't you warn me your world had a male version of Umbridge?"

"Did you want to imagine a male version of Umbridge?" The rebellious teen quipped back.

"I...Good point." Harry shook his head though. "But seriously, that Takaoka character just comes in and suddenly gets the authority to punish anyone while making a core class unbearable, plus even when he was defeated in a bet, he won't accept his loss."

"Yeah, there's not enough Nasty in Drill Sergeant Nasty." Karma said as he continued his studies. "Nice knife-work by the way."

Harry shrugged. "Sometimes, I Wake up after the Dursleys dump me on the streets. Tell me, does Takaoka come back again?"

"After this set of finals. Long story short, he's mad enough to poison half the class and blow up the antidote in front of the rest of us in Baseline. We were lucky that the assassins he hired aren't as bloodthirsty as him and switched out the poison."

Harry blinked. "Yikes. He sounds worse than Umbridge."

"He did have the balls to pull off that move, but your teacher lasted longer than a day. Let's just agree they're both very bad teachers." Karma smirked. "Oh, and one more thing. Since you fought him last time, he'll want a rematch against you. You wouldn't happen to have a plan, do you?"

Harry only grinned back. "You know, Karma, I had so many plans for a male Umbridge and not enough Umbridge being male. Now this is what I'm going to do…"

* * *

9.14 – (krspaceT)

[DBZ]

"...Now Bulma, what have we learned about trying to stop Zombie Apocalypses!" Krillin yelled at the down looking Anchor, who tried to not look the preteen Gohan in the eye as the two of them looked down at the rapidly deteriorated earth below from the Lookout.

"Saiyans are not immune to human zombie outbreaks, and telling Unawake Goku's to go and deal with the problem only makes the problem worse. I should have thought of the fact Goku can have kids with Chi-Chi before thinking he was immune".

"Your damn right it made things worse and that Goku isn't immune! Just be glad Zombie Goku hasn't learned to fly yet! Now, seeing as I closed off all the exits for the Zombies to get to the lookout, and I have no idea how long Unawake Piccolo can hold out before being eaten," Kami had already moved to a secure location in case the infection was a transferable thing, like death was, between the two, "The only responsible thing to do is to go to Namek and hope to Sun Wukong that Dragon Balls can remove zombie virus outbreaks before Raditz comes and becomes cosmic patient zero!"

-x-x-x-x-

 **Meanwhile in the Admin space:**

"Hey, can someone get me the number of the Admin who specializes in these sorts of Loops! I need to figure out if Dragon Balls can remove Zombie Plagues!"

* * *

9.15 – (Harasota)

[Assassination Classroom/Bloodbourne]

"Hey, Karma?"

"Yes, Terasaka?"

"Is it just me, or does the octopus look sick?"

"Hm..." Karma looked at the white blob in the teacher's robes. "I honestly don't see the difference."

"...You're shitting me, aren't yo-" Terasaka jumped out of his seat when a beaker crashed on his desk, no doubt filled with some sort of liquid he did not want to test. "Bastard!"

"Oooaaaarrrrrghh!" The teacher did not like that kind of language in his classroom. He then returned to his lecture on psychology.

Karma simply chuckled at the antic. "I wonder how our other teacher is doing."

-x-x-x-x-

The Hunter gave his respects as he grabbed the key from the desk. Rarely does a visiting Looper Replaced a creature, and even rarer are those who like to enjoy a good bloody bout. This yellow substitute of the teacher, a Koro-Sensei, was nice enough to bestow him several daggers and bullets that were only effective on the teacher, and he made sure to replace the blade of his Rifle Spear with one of the daggers. The Hunter had thought his opponent was giving him a great advantage.

No, the creature was agile. When the Hunter thrust his spear, the creature had already polished the grime off all his weapons! The Hunter was thankful that Koro-Sensei did throw his punches, weak as they were, or this wouldn't be a real fight. However, the longer this bout went, the more creative Koro-Sensei became with each hit, and the Hunter was sure to remind him of this battle.

Looking back, the Hunter's deciding blow was of three components once he realized his opponent preferred "grooming" over fighting. First, he broke a blood phial all over himself and counted on Koro-Sensei moving in to wipe the blood off his coat as he did before. At that instant, the Hunter pulled out Reiterpallasch and thrust the rapier into Koro-Sensei's chest. The creature must have been overconfident, knowing that the weapon was metal like any other. The Hunter smiled as he lifted the hilt up.

The second component shot Koro-Sensei with a hidden gun barrel.

"The last and most important component in that fight had been luck. The hope that he would not consider such a trick in a weapon or that he would have a plan to escape death." The Hunter decided as he opened the Lecture Hall with the key. "Still, he is worthy prey. I would not mind seeing him again soon."

He opened the door and saw a room full of white...er, yellow tentacled creatures in teacher's robes. "Too soon!"

* * *

9.16 – (kingofsouls)

[Eyeshield21/ DBZ]

Vegeta glared at the Anchor of the Loop with his patented death glare. "So let me get this straight. The only reason why you didn't think I was a visiting Looper was the fact that the vermin I'm Replacing looks like, acts like, and is in essence a copy of me?"

Sene felt a shiver of fear crawl down his spine as he nodded. "Yea...sorry about that Vegeta..."

Vegeta growled as he looked around, his eyes landing on the gridiron Sena felt so comfortable in. "And to top it off, the main attraction of this Loop is this stupid Earth game. Adorable."

"Hey, football is a pretty rough sport."

"Sure it is."

"No, really."

"Listen kid in my Loop I fight people capable of ending a planet in less time that in takes for you to sneeze. Your Loop simply does not compare to mine. Therefore: Stupid. Earth. Game." Vegeta growled as his anger grew. He hovered in the air, eager to leave. "Just point me to a place to train and we'll pretend this never happened."

Sena sighed, aiming him in the right direction as Vegeta flew into the sky, leaving the Loop's main plot behind him.

"Well, without Ikkyru the Kanto tournament is going to be really different."

"SENA, DID YOU SEE THAT!? THAT GUY FLEW! HOW MAXI-COOL!"

Sena facepalmed as Monta raced up to him, amazed at Vegeta's flight.

Of course Monta wasn't Awake this Loop.

And judging from the growing crowd, a quiet Loop was now an impossibility.

* * *

9.17 – (burningclaw2)

[JoJo/Yu-Gi-Oh!]

' _Great'_ thought Jonathan as this Loop he ended up Waking just as he was heading into Ogre Street, ' _At least I'll be able to befriend Speedwagon soon.'_

As Jonathan walked down the slum area he soon found a variance to the norm, ' _Something's wrong. Normally Speedwagon and his friends would've attacked me by now.'_

Jonathan was contemplating what was going on as he headed to the poison dealer when he suddenly heard a scream of absolute terror.

"What!?" Jonathan exclaimed in shock, quickly running towards the source of the scream. Upon reaching his destination he was shocked by what he saw.

Standing in front of the two thugs that usually attacked him alongside Speedwagon was a young man with tri-colored hair and a chain around his neck. As the young man turned to face him, Jonathan saw a golden puzzle attached to the chain like a pendant. The thugs were both on the ground shivering in fright.

"Who are you? What happened to those two?" Jonathan asked mentally preparing himself should this person turn hostile for some reason.

"Generally it is polite to give your name first," the young man replied a slight smirk adorning his face and confidence oozing from his form, while Jonathan's eyes widened.

' _Gah! How could I forget that?'_ thought Jonathan before giving his name, "I'm Jonathan Joestar, though my friends call me JoJo. Now can you be so kind as to answer my questions?"

"Very well. My name is Atem. As for what happened to those two, they are simply recovering from the effects of the Penalty Game they had to endure. They'll live and come out better for it." replied the young man.

"Penalty Game? Also how long will it be till they have recovered?" inquired Jonathan worried about Speedwagon's friends

"A form of judgment which differs from person to person depending on the theme of the game and the crime the receiver has committed. For those two since the punishment was only a small illusion they should recover within a day at most," Atem answered before commenting, "Though someone Awake could tell how bad it might be."

The emphasis on the word 'awake' alerted Jonathan on why this person was here instead of Speedwagon.

"You're a Looper then," stated Jonathan, internally he thought, ' _Thank God those two will be alright. Though it is disappointing that Speedwagon won't be here'_ The thought that his friend wouldn't be here this time around saddening Jonathan a little.

"Indeed. Along with my partner," replied Atem before becoming bathed in a golden light causing Jonathan to cover his eyes. When the light disappeared 'Atem' appeared to have lost several inches in height and his features looked slightly softer than before.

Then 'Atem' spoke, "Hello JoJo. I'm Yugi Muto, Atem's partner and friend."

' _Two personalities!?'_ Jonathan thought in shock, ' _Or is it something else? Yugi and Atem seem so different but at the same time similar.'_

"In case you're wondering, Atem is a 3000 year old spirit who resides in my Millennium Puzzle. Though I have had a few Loops where I was Atem's reincarnation," Yugi said seeing Jonathan's shock.

"Huh? How does that work? How do you two co-exist so easily?" asked Jonathan curious.

"Atem was an Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh, who had used magic to seal himself inside the Millennium Puzzle to lock away a great evil. Using the Puzzles' magic we can switch which of us is in control of my body or merge together for a while."

"Ah. That might explain things. Anyways it's nice to meet you Yugi, Atem." said Jonathan as he held out his hand. He himself had dealt with many strange things over his own adventures.

"Nice to meet you too, JoJo," replied Yugi as he took Jonathan's hand starting another YuJo friendship.

-x-x-x-x-

After Jonathan had gotten the Chinese man who sold Dio the poison used on his father, he and Yugi went to the Joestar Mansion for the confrontation of Dio.

Jonathan was once more hoping to stop Dio before he puts on the Stone Mask, and if that fails he would put the monster Dio would become, down in the Joestar Mansion before he could cause any unnecessary deaths.

Dio was in the middle of his 'I want to Atone' act after being caught, when all of a sudden a confident voice spoke up from behind the man.

"Hmph. You? Atone? Please do not make me laugh," said the confident Atem from behind Dio.

"What!?" exclaimed Dio turning to face the young man just radiating an aura of confidence and charisma.

Who are you!?" Dio had yelled at the sight of the young man sweat starting to appear on his face.

"You may call me Atem," the confident young man replied, "and I have seen many of the vilest of men in my days but you take the cake, Dio Brando. Your very presence reeks of evil, so much that anybody who feels the bare minimum of your presence would feel nothing but revulsion. That is something only someone born completely evil can possess."  
As Atem said this he brought out Wan Chen the Chinese poison seller/fortune teller.

' _You have to admit,'_ thought Jonathan as he watched this, ' _Atem's could give Speedwagon a run for his money on the speech here.'_

"This man is the witness to your buying of the poison." Atem finished. This had cued the police and Jonathan's father to reveal themselves. Dio had broken down sweating as he gritted his teeth at the site.

"Dio, I've heard it all!" said George Joestar, "I am so sorry…your father saved my life…and I've tried to raise you with as much love and hope as my own son!"

As he said all this he started to head towards the stairs and continued talking, "I will go to my room and rest…I don't want to see my son be taken in…"

"So, now that you've got me surrounded, it's all over…" said Dio.

"That man…he won't be caught…" said Wan Chen, "That's what my fortune-telling tells me…it's written not just in the three birthmarks behind his ear, but in his face! He was born with great luck!" This statement had cause George to get a worried look on his face.

"JoJo…I'll let myself be arrested… but at least put the handcuffs on me yourself…for the sake of the seven years we've been together…" said Dio his arms in position to be cuffed even with the sling on, "I've hurt my shoulder… if I can ask anything of you, don't be too rough."

Jonathan knew about the trick that Dio was planning and prepared himself for what was to come as he said, "Okay, I'll put on the handcuffs."

As Jonathan approached Dio with the handcuffs a glint lit up from within Dio's sling.

As Jonathan got close, Dio began speaking, "JoJo…there's a limit to human ability…"

At this Jonathan pretended to look wondered as Dio continued speaking, "I've learned one thing in my short life… the harder you plan, the less things will go according to your plans! As long as you cannot go beyond humanity…"

At this Jonathan adopted a shocked and angered look as he prepared for what was about to happen as he thought, ' _Hopefully I can stopped Father from being killed this time.'_

At Jonathan's look Dio withdrew the Stone Mask and the knife from the sling as he exclaimed, "I reject my humanity! JoJo! I'll transcend humanity!"

Dio moved to put on the mask and stab Jonathan while everyone was shocked at the sight of the knife, however he was stopped when a giant stone sword struck the ground in front of him. This had ended up saving the life of George Joestar as he had moved to take the knife to his back so that it wouldn't hit Jonathan who was in motion to move his father out of the way of the knife and dodge the blow himself.

The existence of the stone sword caught everyone by surprise when they looked to see what had brought the weapon down they were shocked to see an ivory stone knight on a horse, looking similar to a knight piece in chess. The knight brought the sword up at the ready once more but made no other moves.

"Dio," called out Atem's voice making everyone turn to look at him what the saw was surprising. On the young man's head was a golden image of the Eye of Horus on his forehead. Behind him his shadow stood elongated to the point it appeared to be looming over them all which also had the same symbol on its forehead. "For your attempt on my friends' life you must now play a game with me."

' _Wh-what is this?'_ Jonathan thought shocked after all hearing and seeing are two different things after all, _'_ _Atem acts as if he were a predator and Dio is his prey.'_

"A game!?" Dio exclaimed shocked and enraged that his plan had been foiled.

"Yes, but not just any game. We'll be playing a 'Game of Darkness' where the stakes are much higher," replied Atem before continuing, "Should you win, you will go free to do as you wish. But should I win you must play a Penalty Game." A dark chuckle escaped from Atem's mouth.

"Oh." Dio decided to inquire, "And what will we be playing?"

"We'll play a game of chess, but we'll be playing as the kings giving their soldiers commands." As Atem said this the world itself seemed to be shifting. The floor was becoming checkered like a chess board and large ivory and ebony statues had begun to rise from the floor. The Joestar's, police, and Wan Chen all were standing on a platform away from the giant chess board. The only pieces missing were the White and Black King's which were Replaced by Atem and Dio respectively.

"I'm sure you know the rules Dio!" exclaimed Atem.

"Of course, make your move." Dio yelled back.

"Very well then, Game Start!" announced Atem as the game went underway, the King's pawn moving two spaces forward. The spectators could only watch anxiously as the game unfolded.

Dio had replied to Atem's pawn with his own King's Pawn. Atem answered this with his White Bishop as it marched to C4 to spaces to the left of his King's Pawn, while Dio had his Black Bishop move in front of Atem's. Atem's move was sending his White Bishop Pawn one space forward while Dio moved his Queen to guard him. Atem had then sent moved his King side Knight into ready position for taking Dio's King's Pawn, which was met with the Queen's Pawn advancing one square. Atem then sent forth his own Queen's Pawn however it moved two spaces instead of one, thus caused Dio to move his Black Bishop back in order to protect it. Atem then castled himself with the King's Rook as Dio moved his King's Knight forward.

' _Amazing,'_ thought Jonathan watching as Atem and Dio pieces move about, each one probing for an opening to take. ' _Dio appears to be getting nervous, while Atem remains perfectly calm!'_

Atem then moved his Queen forward to watch his pawns, while Dio had castled himself with his own Kings Rook. This was answered as Atem's own Black Bishop moved into striking position of Dio's Knight. Dio had answered this move by sending forward the King side Rook's Pawn in hopes of forcing the Bishop to be called back. While Atem did call his Black Bishop back it was still poised to strike Dio's Knight, Dio had then moved forward the Pawn that was guarding him when he had castled so he could attempt to take Atem's Black Bishop. Once more Atem withdrew his Black Bishop, at this time Dio moved his original King's Pawn to take Atem's Queen's Pawn.

Everyone was shocked as the Black King's Pawn, which looked like a lightly armored human, took out a club and smashed it upon the White Queen's Pawn. The opposing Pawn shattered pieces of it scattering about the board. However that wasn't what shocked everyone, it was the fact that once all the pieces of the destroyed Pawn stopped moving hundreds of monstrous hands appeared from under the board and starting dragging the shattered Pawn underneath.

"Wh-what was that!?" yelled Dio eyes wide at he just saw.

Atem only chuckled darkly as he replied, "It is the fate of the loser of our game Dio. The monsters hidden below this board will feast on every destroyed piece and eventually they will enjoy the flesh of losing King. Now then it's my turn."

Atem then moved his original King's Pawn forward another space as it was no longer blocked. In return Dio moved his King's Knight back in order to protect it from Atem's Pawn. It was then that Atem moved his Queen within striking range of Dio, the White Queen seemingly glaring down at Dio as he was placed in check. In order to get out of check Dio planted himself behind his retreated Knight. Atem's Queen was then moved in front of Dio's Knight but not before she backhanded the Pawn that was in her way into shards. Dio then moved his White Bishop in front of his own Queen. However Atem chose to move the King's Pawn to take down Dio's Queen's Pawn, once more monstrous hands appeared to claim their prize. Dio answered this move by using a previously unmoved White Bishop's Pawn to eliminate the recently moved Kings Pawn. Atem countered by moving his Black Bishop to strike the Pawn.

"Checkmate Dio," called Atem knocking everyone out of the reverie of watching the match. Dio could do nothing – as if he moved to save his Queen, then Atem's Knight would start to advance in order to further trap Dio – as Atem's Queen glared down at him from behind his own Knight.

"Damn you!" cursed Dio as his grip on the knife in his possession, tightened before he charged at the confident victor, knife poised to strike, "I don't care about this game anymore, I'll just use your life to transcend instead of JoJo's like I planned!"

"You lose Dio." Atem stated calmly while everyone was yelling at him to move, "You not only planned to kill the man who took you in but you tried to crush Jonathan's spirit and even attempted to kill him. There is no salvation for you, Dio Brando!"

As Dio continued his desperate charge Atem pointed one hand at Dio and yelled, "Penalty Game: Experience of Death!"

Suddenly the ground below Dio disappeared; looking down Dio saw a variety of hungering beasts waiting for him to fall so they can feast on his flesh. With his free hand Dio managed to grab a ledge only to be forced to let go as Atem had walked up and stamped on Dio's fingers with enough force to break the bones. This had led to Dio falling into the pit of monsters as the eagerly moved in to devour him.

Dio's screams of terror and agony seemed to have caused everything surrounding them to shatter like glass revealing the entrance room of the Joestar Mansion just as it was before the Game of Darkness began. Dio was huddled on the floor tears flowing from his eyes the Stone Mask and knife discarded to the side. Dio was also mumbling incoherently from his position, but one could hear the absolute terror he felt.

The policemen had quickly shook their heads dismissing what the witness as a mind game before grabbing the terrified Dio and dragging him away.

Jonathan picked up the Stone Mask before looking at Atem and asked, "What did you do? Will he recover?" While internally Jonathan thought, ' _Father survived this Loop! Maybe now I can introduce Erina to him when we reunite. But what happened to Dio?'_

At this Atem gave a small smile as his shook his own head in friendly exasperation, "You're a good man JoJo caring for a person who would have gladly taken the lives of you and everyone that was here. As for what I've done I simply placed Dio under the Penalty Game, The Experience of Death which makes it seem like one is being repeatedly slaughtered by monsters. Dio will recover…if there is any good in his heart. But I personally doubt it."

Atem's reply both shocked Jonathan and made him blush slightly at the praise this charismatic and confident man just gave him. A man who was earlier on had become a new friend for Jonathan.

George Joestar walked towards Atem and gave him a hug while crying slightly before pulling away and saying, "Thank you, Thank you. You helped save not just my life but JoJo's as well. How may I ever repay you?"

"You do not need to repay me, I was only helping someone I view as a friend." replied Atem, a smile adorning his face, continuing before George Joestar could say anything about Atem's reply. "But if you feel as if you must repay me, then a place to stay would be appreciated. I am currently lacking in lodgings."

"Agreed. The servants will collect your things." Said George smiling at Atem's reply though he felt that just a place to stay wouldn't be enough to pay off the debt accrued this day, "JoJo, why don't you show your friend to his room."

This shocked both Atem and Jonathan. Though Jonathan was somewhat expecting this to happen.

Nodding his head Jonathan led Atem to a room upstairs for him to stay at while thinking, ' _While they're not Speedwagon, both Yugi and Atem are good friends like he was.'_

Looking outside at the sky Jonathan couldn't but smile at what happened today.

* * *

9.1 – If you are a monster who destroys the earth at a given time and it is past the given time, you must fix it.  
9.2 – There's always a bigger fish. Which is good, considering Goku's appetite.  
9.3 – Friendship is that which endures, even in the face of great suffering.  
9.4 – If the world is not destroyed a second time, you might as well see why it won't destroy.  
9.5 – Too bad it'll never make it past the censors. Flashing the audience is not okay Godzilla.  
9.6 – Dr. Wily, mad scientist extraordinaire. His doctorate is in BULLSHIT HAXX. Even Loopers have trouble when he comes calling.  
9.7 – His pupils must be so inspired to see him rising to the challenge just as they are.  
9.8 – Beam-o-war. Because how else are you supposed to say hello?  
9.9 – Poor guy takes the term 'half'n'half' to a whole new level  
9.10 – And thus did the students become the teacher. As did everyone else.  
9.11 – Honestly, is there no one in this entire universe capable of putting up a good fight? Geez, buncha weaklings.  
9.12 – A Gang-star in New York.  
9.13 – So many options, so little time.  
9.14 – Saiyan appetites should _never_ meet zombie dietary requirements.  
9.15 – Absence makes the heart grow fonder. So be absent dammit!  
9.16 – Ah, yes. Thematic puns. It's funny cause they look the same. Yggdrasil, you so clever.  
9.17 – Yugi's Bizarre Duelventure.


	10. Chapter 10

10.1 – (krspaceT)

(Yu Yu Hakusho/Star Wars)

Obi-Wan Kenobi could tolerate ghost Loops, if Anakin was around.

Awake or not, trolling him was at least a past-time.

But no, he wasn't even in his galaxy this ghost Loop.

He was a ghost, in Japan.

He could predict the Hollows that were bound to come soon...

"Oh, hollows? You're worried about those things? Don't worry, this is the wrong Loop for them!"

The ghost form of the Jedi Master suddenly realized he wasn't alone.

No, there was a blue haired, broom riding witch hovering in front of him.

Dressed in a pink kimono of all things.

(Thankfully, she was not Umbridge. She was a lot cuter, for one thing. Contrary to what Anakin believed, he was capable of such thoughts)

"Well, this is new" this was a new one.

"Well, new for you maybe. I've actually been around for a while now" the witch descended to his eye level before extending her hand "My name is Botan, fifth Looper of the world Anchored by Yuusuke Urameshi. My job is to guide spirits to the afterlife, though I assume that won't be necessary"

"No, not at all" Obi-Wan had no desire to play with Earthly afterlifes. That wasn't his thing.

But still, one thing was bothering him...

"Yuusuke, Yuusuke..." The name was familiar "Wait, is he the kid who walked into the portal..."

Botan looked somewhat unamused now "No, that was Danny Phantom"

"Oh..." he pondered again "Does this world involve card games..."

"No, that's Yugi" Botan now looked somewhat annoyed now.

"Oh dear, I'm striking out today" Obi-Wan was blushing from his inability to remember.

"Yes, yes you are"

Obi-Wan stroked his beard in that mentally stimulating manner of his, before his memory flared up "Oh wait, he's the finger gun guy, right?"

"Bingo!" the blue haired witch snapped her fingers in joy "Now, I assume you probably want to be alive again. I can make some arrangements, though it may cost you"

"Define...cost me"

-x-x-x-x-

The ever green garb of the spirit detective Yuusuke Urameshi caused the milkshake he was slurping to refract in strange colors.

"Man oh man, isn't this Loop fun guys! This place has great milkshakes, and they are all cheap! Man, this should be Baseline"

"Yes, certainly better than that Loop where I was much too similar to that other Kurama" a red long-haired male mused

"Or that Loop where I was a cat" a colossus of a teenage male with punkish orange hair laughed "Or what about that Loop with the ears..."

"We agreed to never speak of that Loop again" a dark haired fellow muttered as he absently rubbed his hidden third eye, quite glad it wasn't an ear "and I do believe the temp is here"

The foursome found themselves joined by an Obi-Wan who looked more like he had just went a few rounds on Geonosis in his underwear.

"So, you're the Jedi huh? Why do you look like you just fought something that came out of a golden egg to the death?" Yuusuke inquired.

"I don't want to talk about it" was all Obi-Wan would ever say on the subject.

* * *

10.2 – (TrueZero2)

"Excuse me, are you Dio? The Gourmet Hunter?"

Komatsu approached the blond man in front of him. Something about him was rather unnerving. For one, he was sat next to a jury-rigged fishing pole that appeared to be made from some heavy duty materials.

"I'd l-like to hire you for a job, if that's p-possible." He added.

The man raised a hand, gesturing for Komatsu to be quiet. He was looking out at the water, watching a huge grasshopper floating on the surface. He grabbed a bottle of bourbon that was next to him and popped the cork before downing the entire bottle in one go.

' _That brand of bourbon is 50% alcohol!_ ' Komatsu thought. ' _He just drank it like it was nothing!_ '

The grasshopper was pulled under the water.

"FINALLY!" The man shouted, grabbing the fishing pole and standing up. After a few seconds of pulling, the fish came flying out of the water. It must've been over 7 meters long and 2 meters tall, along with the giant lobster claws that it possessed.

' _A pincer fish! It's huge! He's lifting it like it's nothing!_ ' Komatsu thought. Before the man could bring it down onto the round though, a massive bird with five reptilian tails grabbed the fish in mid-air.

"Hey bastard! That fish is MINE!" The man roared, swinging the pole and slamming both the bird and fish onto the ground behind a terrified Komatsu.

"Heh, better haul than I expected." The man said as he started to inspect the two creatures. "A Pincer Fish and a Five-Tailed Giant Eagle. Looking at these two, they're really good specimens, probably about Capture Level 2 and 3 respectively. Considering the average levels for their respective species are a level lower than that, I got some good ones!" He grinned before turning back to Komatsu. "The name's Dio, now what was this you were saying about a job?"

And then the two Awoke. Instantly Dio's expression soured, while Komatsu's face went paler.

"So where the hell am I this time?" Dio asked, looking around. He saw the fish and eagle that he'd caught and checked his Loop Memories. "At least I can start this Loop on a full stomach."

Komatsu tried to back away quietly.

' _Not good, not good!_ ' He thought, ' _He's not only Replaced Toriko but he's Awake too! I'm in big trouble now!_ '

Dio turned to Komatsu. "Since you got scared of me all of a sudden, I'm guessing you're Awake as well? So which are you, Anchor or Looper?"

"I-I-I…" Komatsu stammered.

"Spit it out!" Dio shouted.

"I'm the Anchor!" Komatsu finally admitted. "I know who you are too, so…"

Dio chuckled as Komatsu pulled a kitchen knife out of his Pocket.

' _The Derous Knife should be able to slow him down at least._ ' Komatsu thought.

"Tell me kid." Dio said, "You know who I am…"

Komatsu blinked. When his eyes opened again he was above the edge of the cliff and the Derous Knife was on the ground near the two kills from earlier.

"…so you know that I can stop time. Exactly what makes you think that you can actually defeat me?" Dio finished.

"I know I can't stop you." Komatsu replied. "At the very least, it probably would have slowed you down."

"Hmph. At least you're honest about that." Dio replied, throwing Komatsu back towards the animals. He closed his eyes as he began to properly sift through his Loop Memories. "Hmm, Gourmet Era… so this Loop's all about food. I'm a Gourmet Hunter, a famous one too. Oh, this world's beasts look interesting."

Komatsu gulped. Dio finding something interesting was never good.

Dio chuckled again. "What's your name?"

"Komatsu." Komatsu reluctantly replied. "I'm a chef and I'm not a kid, I'm in my twenties."

"So you're just a runt then. Well today's your lucky day Komatsu, I'm going to give this Loop a chance to impress me. So long as I don't get bored, I'll play nice. Do we have a deal?" Dio asked, approaching Komatsu with a smile.

"Not like I have much choice, do I?" Komatsu muttered.

"Not really, but I am being generous here. So, before we Awoke, you mentioned a job?" Dio grinned.

"I was asked by one of the IGO's higher-ups to hire you to hunt a Garara Gator." Komatsu said, "There's an event being held and they need something to act as the dinner's main course."

"I see, and how much am I being paid?" Dio asked, intrigued.

"200,000 Yen per Kilogram." Komatsu replied.

Dio closed his eyes for a moment. "So a Million Yen for just five kilograms. Putting that into Pounds Sterling… that's a lot of money." He said, surprised. "How big do Garara Gators get?"

"Let's just say that once it's dead, gathering five kilos isn't hard. The hard part is actually killing it." Komatsu explained.

Dio chuckled. "I see. Handily my memories are giving me useful information too. Well then Komatsu, cook those for me then it's time to go hunting."

* * *

10.3 – (Darkmage97)

[DBZ]

Twilight was annoyed, very, _very_ annoyed.

Yet again her tree had been destroyed, but this time it was before Tirek showed up.

The round metal ball, that was currently sitting in the crater that used to be her tree slowed hissed open.

A bipedal figure emerged from the pod, standing slowly as if for dramatic effect.

"Now I stand here on this dead planet..." The figure's voice trailed off into nothing as he looked around.

"You there" said pointing at the nearest being (which was a very scared and Unawake Spike) "Is this the planet know as Ereth?"

"N-n-noooo," stammered Spike, "T-t-this is Equis."

The creature reached up and tapped the device affixed to the side of his head, "Vegeta, you gave me the wrong coordinates, this is Frieza planet 442"

A faint mumbling could be heard coming from the device.

"What do you mean you misread it? How much am I off by?"

More mumbling could be heard.

"20,000 thousand light-years!" the being exclaimed, "Next time we double check the coordinates so this doesn't happen again"

With that the being climbed back into his pod, uploaded the new coordinates, and blasted off to "Ereth."

"...Treedamn it Raditz" said Twilight while facehooving.

* * *

10.4 – (ToaMataNui5000)

[Psyren/Sly Cooper]

Sly, or more correctly Haruhiko Cooper, woke up humanized in a Japanese style hide-out. A few Pings revealed that Dimitri and Murray were also Awake. However, they were elsewhere, and apparently an Unawake Carmelita was bound to a hospital bed. Their current heist was relating to stealing money from the local yakuza, in order to fund her medical bills.

"Alright Bently, what do you got for me?" Sly walked in to where his humanized, brainy buddy was looking over building schematics.

"Oh, it'll be simple. Once Murray gets back from scouting, you two will distract the guards. Meanwhile, I'll sneak in, find the vault, and use Trick Room to teleport the money out of the safe and into the van." Bently Shinonome beamed proudly. "If it ends up going haywire, use your electric PSI to overload the building's power, and we'll use the blackout to escape."

"My what now?" Sly asked in confusion.

Bently raised his brow, "You've had it ever since our first trip to the future, remember? We were hired by that anonymous phone call to solve some mystery, declined, but went anyway."

' _Must be some new powers exclusive to this world. I bet I can just substitute electrical plasmids'_ "Yeah, now I remember. Sorry, so many heist and lack of sleep from worry got to me."

"Yeah, I know. I wouldn't be able to take it if something like that happened to Penelope." The former turtle patted Sly on the back consolingly. Their moment was interrupted by Murray bursting through the doors.

"Guys! Ya gotta get to the hospital, quickly! You won't believe this!" Murray Asaga said in tired gasps that held an undertone of happiness.

Bently promptly used Trick Box to warp the thievious trio to the hospital roof. Too impatient to use stairs, Sly flipped gravity, ran down the building-side, and jumped through the window leading to Carmelita's room. There he saw his beloved wife, waking up like it was nothing but a long nap. "Morning Ringtail, I see you're feeling Loopy, too?"

Sly pulled her into a tight hug and a passionate kiss. "I know I shouldn't be worried, but I couldn't help it." They finally let go after a few minutes. "How did you get healed up?"

"Murray came over and we made amends for some childhood bullying." The two turned to see Ageha leaning against the wall. "And trust me Sly, it's fine to worry. I got a lover and a manor of orphans that have yet to start Looping that I'm scared for, so you'll be fine."

"Thanks pal." Sly and Ageha fist-bumped. "Ba-da-la-da-la-da-la!"

"Eh?"

"You'll understand after eventually meeting Baymax and Hiro," Sly chuckled. "So, what do you normally do here? Bently mentioned something about time travel and special abilities?"

"We prevent the apocalypse, apparently this time around by the sentient meteor Clockwork Ouroboros." Ageha noticed the couple shiver at the name. "But if you wanna do so, I gotta teach you all PSI. Cause no offense, that cane and shock pistol ain't gonna do much. Then again, I lack any outside abilities to test."

"How 'bout I give you a cane to personalize and a copy of the Thievious Raccoonus in return? To try out in your next Loops."

"And if it's anything like learning how to throw Hadoken or perform magic, I bet we won't mind the training." Carmelita smiled.

"Deal."

Meanwhile, outside the room, Bently sighed. "Whelp, back to the drawing board."

* * *

10.5 – (DiamondDemonDragon)

[One Piece]

"Damn it." Nami cursed pulling a gold brick from her cleavage.

"What's wrong Nami?" Nico Robin asked turning another page in her book, the navigator's curse drawing her attention.

"Ever since the expansion into Whole Cake island my Pocket has been acting strangely some Loops I can't access it from anywhere else but here." She pulled out one of the millions of Climatacts she had stored from between her breasts.

"Sounds like another glitch, It should pass with time." Robin sipped her coffee to punctuate her nonchalance.

"I know but its still annoying and conspicuous." Nami crossed her arms under her breasts.

"If it makes you feel any better, I have a glitch of my own." Robin offered piquing Nami's interest.

"Go on."

"As you know historical records in the Loop can very wildly from what is considered Baseline even in a Baseline Loop, the Poneglyphs are no exception." Robin explained and Nami nodded.

"Right so how bad could it be?" Nami couldn't help but ask.

"The Poneglyphs have Rick Rolled me, been the entire Twilight novel series, pornography of my mother and every man on the Grandline, and – perhaps the worst – authored by Billy." Robin twitched at the mention of that crime against language that sat the in back of her mind.

"And on second thought this isn't really that bad." Nami answered pulling out a flask to repress her own memories of the incarnation of Chaotic Stupidity.

* * *

10.6 – (wildrook)

Kaoru had noticed that it was that day again. The day she met the wandering samurai known as Kenshin. Imagine her surprise when a black-haired man in Kenshin's clothes had crashed into a nearby area after jumping high-up.

"And I didn't even draw my sword," she muttered.

"I'm fine!" the voice yelled, catching her by surprise at the male. "This happens to me more often than you think."

"You drop out of the sky every time?"

He gave off a sheepish grin. "More like I get launched due to extenuating circumstances," he replied. "Although my hands are quite steady. They have to be if I'm to use this thing." He then brought out the Reversed-Bladed Sword as he managed to stand up.

"I can say this," she said, "you don't look like a Swordsman if you crash that often."

However, a commotion interrupted them as a bunch of policemen in Kyoto fell after one big guy.

"Oh no. Him again."

The young man was surprised at the big guy. "You know that guy?" he asked her.

"Claims he's Battousai the Manslayer and uses the Kamiya-Kasshin Ryu. It's either him or a group of brothers, but they're usually going after me."

Said young man had managed to get up and look at the big guy. "Sounds like a troublemaker." He then charged in before Kaoru could stop him, much to the big guy's surprise.

The big guy then looked at the young man and laughed. "Well, someone's got guts," he said. "Do you even know who you're up against? I'm known as Hitokiri Battousai, and I use the Kamiya-Kasshin-Ryu!"

"I've heard," he replied, "and that's an inaccuracy I'd like to point out. Because the real Battousai is not that huge."

The man cringed. "Too bad you're not in any position to explain how you called my bluff, because you just became my next victim!"

However, before Kaoru could step in, the young man stopped the blade with the hilt...unsheathed...and without tripping.

"Didn't think I'd get a reaction out of you that easily," he replied. "But if you want to know, I'd have to borrow a phrase from an old friend of mine." As the young man jumped up, he had managed to unsheathe his sword, smacking the man in the head with the handle before grabbing a four-piece weapon and set it together as he sheathed the other sword perfectly. "Ore...sanjou."

"Ore..." Then it hit him. "Then you...a scrawny kid like you...is the..."

"And for the record, the reversed-blade sword is just my secondary." He then picked it up as he brought out the primary. "And if I'm guessing, your cronies are not too far behind, knowing my luck."

"He took out our boss!" one of the arriving cronies yelled. "But can that kid really be the Hitokiri himself?"

"Who cares," his friend yelled. "There's only one of him and a lot of us! Let's get him!"

Before they could charge, a giant blade had knocked them away...by a guy who has the symbol for Bad on it.

"I had a feeling that there was a strong guy here," the man said, Kaoru surprised at the arrival. "You get this guy's name, little lady?"

"He came in with a crash landing," Kaoru replied. "But this isn't the time, Sanosuke. Is Yahiko nearby?"

Sanosuke smirked. "Who do you think knocked out the local Yakuza before I found him?" he asked her, noticing a young-looking male with the same Reverse-Bladed Katana amongst a bunch of mooks. "Nice form, by the way."

The young man smirked, but looked at the man in the duel between the impostor and the newcomer. "Is it just me, or is the Hiten Mitsurugi style more erratic with this guy?"

"Must be the size of the blade," Sanosuke replied. "I'm not one to talk, but he looks more comfortable using that instead of the Reverse-Blade."

Kaoru then looked at the newcomer and noticed he was fighting a double-bladed style instead of the Hiten Mitsurugi. One would think he learned that himself, but some of it looked...influenced by something.

However, when the big guy struck with his left arm, the newcomer jumped as he brought out the Reverse-Bladed sword and crushed the man's fingers.

"I'm not a big fan of bullies," he said, "so I might as well take out your left hand while I'm here. That way, you don't disgrace a Dojo's name."

As he walked away, the police had arrested the big guy as well as the unconscious goons.

However, as soon as he began walking towards them, he nearly collapsed.

"You okay there, pal?" Yahiko asked him.

"I'm fine," the young man replied. "I'm just not used to a high-speed style like the Hiten-Mitsurugi Style every time I Wake Up." He then realized something. "My apologies, but I've never introduced myself when I crashed in. I'm Ryotaro Nogami...although for some odd reason, my first name is Kenshin this Loop. Quite a coincidence, too."

"Nogami," Sanosuke muttered. "I've heard that name before...does it have anything to do with haunted trains?"

"Not this again," Yahiko and Kaoru said, simultaneously.

"Not exactly haunted," Ryotaro replied, even though he shivered at Sanosuke mentioning a haunted train. "But it goes through time."

Sanosuke cringed. "Even worse."

"I take it that's new information from the underworld?" Kaoru asked him.

"During my stint, I had heard Battousai the Manslayer had been associated with a haunted train," he replied. "That was the first clue on this place not acting like normal, because they've been a common sight."

Ryotaro cringed. "Unfortunately," he said, "I was hijacked by the owner's spirit before I Woke Up."

"You're telling us that Sanosuke's superstition is true this time?" Kaoru asked him.

"Partly. They're not Ghosts...they're even worse."

Before they could ask, sand erupted as an hourglass-like being suddenly appeared in front of them.

"My Contract Owner failed in obtaining the girl," it said, forming into a spider-like being, freaking Sanosuke out. "Guess I can't sit this one out...and to think, I found the Singularity Point."

Before Kaoru could grab her bokken, Ryotaro stopped her.

"I've got this," he said.

"You're not exactly in any condition to fight," Yahiko replied. "You sure you can?"

Before they could ask, a belt that resembled train tracks had appeared in his hand with a red center.

"Believe me, I've faced worse." He then brought out a pass, mostly unfamiliar to the Looping Kenshin-Gumi. "Henshin!"

"LINER FORM!" it yelled, red armor appearing on his person as he brought kept the DenGasher out as he took a stance.

Sanosuke blinked. "Well, it does look less sinister than what he originally looked like," he said. "I can give him that."

As the transformed swordsman got ready to charge the Spider Imajin, the three looked ready to cover him...unaware of the trench-coated man with the ticking pocket watch walking away from the fight.

* * *

10.7

[Rosario+Vampire/Haruhi Suzumiya/Evangelion]

"TSUKUNE!" Kurumu screamed as she charged forward, tripping over her desk in the process as her classmates stared at her in surprise before bursting into laughter.

Staring up in confusion at the classroom, her gaze was drawn by the sound of the Sensei's throat being cleared. "Yes, well Miss Tsuruya, while I'm sure you may be hungry you will have to wait for lunch like the rest of the students. Please take your seat, and at least pretend to pay attention."

Numbed by her surprise, Kurumu meekly nodded and quietly returned to her chair as the Sensei resumed his lecture. Not that she bothered to pay any attention to what he was talking about. She may have managed to bring her grades up to passing after so many years studying with Yukari and the rest of her Destined Ones, but that didn't mean she liked school any more than before. And that was entirely unrelated to what was happening at this moment. That being that she had apparently returned to the start of the time loop and, as was unfortunately normal for her, was once more dropped into the beginning of class.

However it was impossible to miss the fact that she wasn't in her normal class. As far as she could tell, the closest thing to a Youkai within miles was further away in the school. Three appeared identical but seemed to be ridiculously powerful, easily on par with Moka's dad each; but the other one... the other one defied explanation or comparison. Even Alucard hadn't felt so overwhelming. This more than anything convinced her that something was wrong. Her brow drawing together she prepared to do the one thing she hated more than anything else. Wait.

Something wasn't right here, and she needed to get to the bottom of it before figuring out her next move. She didn't know where she was, or if there was anyone nearby she could trust. Her mind momentarily flashed to the sight of Kuyou's arm protruding perversely out of Tsukune's chest, before crushing his still beating heart; along with her own in the process. Swallowing a lump in her throat as she pressed against the raw edge of the abyss within her Soul she narrowed her eyes.

First thing first she needed to figure out what was going on. If this was some kind of Kitsune illusion she would find whatever hole the son of a bitch was hiding in and personally shove all four of his tails down his throat and out of his ass. Repeatedly. Then she would find Moka and the others. Only then would she allow herself to go join Tsukune.

Taking a breath to calm herself she pulled upon her Youkai and reached out to the humans around her. Her time in the Loops had only increased her powers and within moments she had Charmed every student nearby, and the Sensei as well. The good news was her abilities still worked; the bad new was that that meant it was very unlikely Kuyou was behind her sudden relocation. Which meant she still needed more information.

Fine. She had an entire room full of people to draw information from. She wasn't so far gone that she would rip the information from their minds, no matter what life Tsukune had moved on to he would never approve of something like that, which meant she would have to do it the slow way. Turning to the Sensei she gave a winsome smile, which combined with the effects of her Charm had him literally falling over himself to try and please her. "Sensei, could you please answer some questions for me?"

-x-x-x-x-

Some things are inevitable. The changing of the seasons, the rotation of the Earth, the uncompromising tide. No matter what happens, some things never change. Haruhi Suzumiya is one of those things. No, calling Haruhi unchanging is doing disservice to permanence. If all else were to fall away and the laws of reality cease to exist, Haruhi would still be Haruhi.

Which is both a blessing and a curse. There is something to be said for routine, but even so this is too much.

"I'm Haruhi Suzumiya, from East Junior High. First off, I'm not interested in ordinary people. But, if any of you are aliens, time-travelers, espers, sliders or youkai, please come see me. That is all!"

So saying Haruhi sat down and began plotting the unfortunate fate of whoever she plans to draft into the S.O.S this Loop. While there is some benefit to having advanced warning whenever a Fused Loop is occurring, can't you find a new way to reveal it.

"Don't be stupid Kyon. Proper introductions are a cornerstone of any good first encounter. It's tradition! Tradition I say!"

Ignoring the dumbfounded stares of the rest of the class, she proceeded to return to her diabolical plotting. Sighing I turned back to face the front of the room. Youkai huh? We'll we haven't had one of those in a while. Wonder what kind of Looper it'll be.

"Hey Kyon, listen man. That Suzumiya is bad news. You don't wanna get involved with a chick like her, you'll end up catching her crazy."

This of course came from the one and only Taniguchi, slacker extraordinaire and all-around future NEET.

"Har de har har. Whatever, don't say I didn't warn you."

Retreating back to his own desk from where he had been leaning onto mine, I released a sigh. Believe me Taniguchi, it is already far too late for me to save myself; just as the Musashi remains sunk beneath the sea so too am I doomed to be forever beneath the infinite weight which is the inescapable might of Haruhi.

Although I suppose there are worse fates than to have the favor of the goddess of your world. Not that I will ever admit that directly to Haruhi, her ego is big enough already.

Still, I hope the visiting Looper can handle their first meeting with Haruhi. As she said, proper introductions and all that. Sigh.

-x-x-x-x-

Kurumu stalked the halls with a cloud of depression hanging over her head. An hour of questioning her thralls had resulted in next to nothing of value. She still had no idea where she was, where her Destined Ones were, how she had gotten here, or why. According to the students and sensei she was in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, between Ōsaka and Kōbe in a city called Nishinomiya. There was nothing to show that there were Youkai anywhere nearby, or ever had been. Except for the four presences she still felt shadowing her every step.

It was to one of the lesser presences she was now making her way. While two of them seemed to be moving around the school as normal, this one had remained stationary. Although the presence grew stronger with every step she took, she was sure it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. Probably.

Finally she reached the room where the unknown energy was coming from, a simple classroom on the second floor whose sign read Literary Club. Steeling herself for a possible fight she boldly opened the door and strode in with a confident step. Whatever she expected to find however, it was not a short girl sitting in a corner reading a book. By all accounts the girl seemed normal enough, her height notwithstanding. However the moment Kurumu entered the room she turned to look at her, and Kurumu felt a chill pass down her spine at the sensation of being pinned beneath a giant's gaze. As if a million eyes were staring directly into her Soul. As quick as the feeling came though, it vanished; leaving the Succubus far less certain of her chances should things come to a fight.

"Welcome. Please sit."

With that, the girl (?) resumed reading as if nothing had occurred, ignoring her presence in favor of her book. As much as Kurumu was wary of the strange person in front of her, there were few things in the world she hated more than being ignored.

With a ruffle of fabric she revealed her wings and tail as her nails extended into wicked looking claws. "HEY! Who the hell are you? Where am I? How did I get here?"

The girl unemotionally raised her eyes from her reading once more, seeming to pay no attention to her new appendages, before reaching forward. Kurumu tensed in preparation, only to come up short as in an instant the girls hand held a small book for her to take; one which hadn't been there a moment before.

"Read."

Kurumu bristled at both the order and the tone, snatching the book roughly from the girls hand and throwing it to at the far wall. "Don't give me that crap! I want to know what's happening, not join your stupid book club!"

Saying nothing, the girl calmly stood and placed her bookmark into her book before walking over to the wall and retrieving the thrown item. Returning, she unconcernedly walked up to face Kurumu before extending the book again. "This will answer you questions. Read."

So saying, she put words to action and returned to her seat; opening her own book and resuming without pause.

Glancing back and forth between the item in her hands and the girl in the corner, Kurumu huffed before resuming her transformation and planting herself unceremoniously in one of the nearby chairs as she examined the book's title. 'Yggdrasil and You: An introduction to the Multiverse for New Loopers by Twilight Sparkle and Hermione Granger.'

Opening it she took a look at the first page. 'Chapter One: All the time in the world – A basic explanation of the Loops.'

Flipping a few more pages, she felt her curiosity catch. The first hundred pages was a list of _chapters_ but the book itself was only the size of a pocket dictionary. Idly flipping through the rest of the book she abruptly came to a sudden realization, there were more pages inside than there were supposed to be. Glancing back at her erstwhile companion she was rewarded by a complete lack of attention, and so with a sigh returned to the first page.

 _'Welcome to the Loops. If you are reading this then this is likely your first encounter with another Looper from a different part of the Multiverse, an event we like to call a_ Fused Loop. _This book will be your guide in coming to grips with your situation and attempting to help you discover what to do with the rest of eternity. I say eternity, because for all intents and purposes the Loops are infinite and will last forever._

As such I and my co-author have made every attempt to document every necessary detail needed to help make your transition to the wider Multiverse as painless as possible. As you may have noticed, this book contains thousands of pages dedicated to teaching you, the Looper (or Anchor) everything you may need to know. Despite it's deceptive size, I can personally assure you that if you have a question you will most likely find an answer here. As they say in the Hub: 'Read the manual.'

We'll start with some basic terms you may need to know to help you understand the rest of this book. A more extensive list can be found in the index on page 3,742 but for now the ones written on the next page will suffice.'

-x-x-x-x-

"Finally! Time for the best part of the day, LUNCH! Seriously, I thought Okabe-Sensei was never going to stop. Hey, Kyon you gonna join me and Kunikida?"

I can almost literally feel Haruhi's gaze boring into the back of my skull with the intensity of a Nautilus THEL. Hey, if you stare any harder you're likely to cause my head to explode!

"Not this time. I've got some club business to attend to."

Taniguchi's face scrunches up at this. "What club? It's the first day of the term."

"The S.O.S. Brigade never allows something as simple as the school terms to define our schedule! Our mission is to find strange and amazing things and have fun with them! How are we supposed to find anything if we waste our time with irrelevant things like when the year starts?!"

I tactically refrain from adding other 'irrelevant things' such as the laws of physics, sleep, or personal space to that list as Haruhi scores yet another victory over Taniguchi; who has retreated to the far wall as the indomitable force which is Haruhi Suzumiya advanced.

Clearing my throat draws her attention from the thoroughly cowed Taniguchi, and after a moment she has the good graces to look embarrassed as she realizes she's falling back into her bad habits. Of all the things about the Loops which I dislike, I consider this one thing to make up for it all; little by little Haruhi is improving.

"A-anyway, like I was saying, Kyon and I have decided to create our own club to find and have fun with unusual and incredible things. If you ever want to join us in our search for the extraordinary, the S.O.S will be accepting additional members in a few weeks. You can find us in the former Literary Clubroom. But don't be late or there'll be a Penalty!"

Taniguchi, if you open your mouth any wider you could be mistaken for a kara-shishi.

Her piece said, Haruhi turned and headed to the exit. "Hurry up Kyon! We have to go get Mikuru!"

I spared Taniguchi an apologetic glance before turning and following Haruhi.

-x-x-x-x-

"So all of reality is some giant tree computer and its trying to fix itself from an unexplained accident by trapping entire universes in an eternally repeating time loop?" Kurumu asked after reading through the first few chapters of the book she had been given.

Without looking up from her own book the girl, Yuki Nagato as Kurumu had been informed, nodded. "Correct."

"And no matter what happens, even if we die, at the end of the 'loop' we end up back at the beginning. Except for when we end up in another universe in a "Fused Loop?'" Kurumu continued.

"Yes."

Kurumu swallowed a lump in her throat. "So... Tsukune is okay?"

Yuki paused and turned to face the expectant succubus with a look that seemed almost empathetic despite its stillness. "Yes. He is fine."

Kurumu's grin was positively radiant. In a flash her wings and tail had appeared and she had leapt into the air with an exuberant cry. "Yahoo-hoo!"

Of course, as Yggdrasil has a twisted sense of humor, that was of course when the door opened; revealing two girls and a boy. The trio stared silently at the succubus flying above the room's sole desk before the boy pinched the bridge of his nose and, gesturing the two girls inside, quickly locked the door.

Kurumu for her part sheepishly returned to the ground and made to restore her human appearance, but never got the chance as abruptly she found one of her wings being manhandled by one of the girls. "Holy crap these are awesome! Kyon, Mikuru you have to look at these, they're so smooth."

"HEY! What the hell are you... doing..." Kurumu trailed off as she focused on the girl with long brown hair tied back in a ponytail with a yellow ribbon. The blood fled from her face as she finally found the source of the overwhelming energy that she had noticed before. "Wh-what are you?"

The girl gave a wide smile that did nothing to ease Kurumu's growing panic, and placed one fist confidently upon her hip before pointing dramatically at her. "My name is Haruhi Suzumiya! Leader of the Spreading Excitement all Over the World with Haruhi Suzumiya Brigade, or S.O.S for short. And as of this moment you are officially invited to join our elite organization in our mission to find unique and exceptional people, places and things in the universe and have fun with them.

"We already have an esper, an alien, a time-traveler, a recovered Sith Lord, a yakuza princess, a goddess and a Kyon."

Kurumu idly noted the figures which had been pointed out as the girl spoke, and a part of her found it amusing that the boy – Kyon apparently – objected to his label, but the majority of her mind latched onto a specific part of the speech and refused to let go. "A _Goddess_!?"

Kyon sighed and turned to the redheaded girl who had watched the proceedings curiously. "Mikuru, could you make us some tea."

The girl gave an adorable smile and nod. "Yes, of course. Please be seated, I'll be done shortly." So saying she pulled a beautiful jade tea set from nowhere and made her way to the sink.

"Now then. Haruhi... geez, can't you wait even a minute before starting your sales pitch?"

Turning to face her, he gave a sheepish smile. "I apologize for Haruhi. She can be a bit much at first."

"Hey!"

Ignoring the outburst, he continued. "As Haruhi said the girl making tea is Mikuru Asahina, our resident time-traveler sent to our time to try and repair the timeline following certain events."

Mikuru paused from her delicate operation and gave a polite bow. "Hello. I'm pleased to meet you, and I hope we can be friends. Oh, and Kyon, my future self has already cleared everything with my superiors so everything should be fine."

Kurumu nodded numbly, her eyes shifting rapidly between the room's residents.

"I'm assuming since she was already here, that you've introduced yourself already Yuki?"

The bookish alien (!) nodded moderately. "I have."

"Okay, right. Well then I'll just skip to the rest of it. Yuki is a representative of the Data Integration Thought Entity, a being composed of multiple Data Lifeforms which seeks to auto evolve. She may not be a human, but she is still a person; and if you can't respect that, then I suggest you leave now."

Despite her confusion, this was at least familiar. This boy reminded her of Tsukune, and she rewarded his loyalty to his friend with a brilliant smile and a nod of acceptance. Kyon flushed, but managed to maintain his composure. Heh, cute.

"There is another member, Itsuki Koizumi – the Esper mentioned, but he won't show up for at least a few more days. Speaking of which, Haruhi, I haven't received a text from Itsuki so he may not be Awake this Loop."

Haruhi huffed and stopped scowling at Kurumu's interaction with Kyon a moment before at the news. "Well that's no fair, how are we supposed to give a proper welcome to our new Club member if everyone isn't here. Penalty, penalty!"

Kyon rolled his eyes and continued. "Our esteemed leader is of course Haruhi Suzumiya, the apparent Goddess of this world. But don't let her attitude fool you, she's a good person inside. She just has trouble showing it."

Haruhi flushed brightly and turned away with a scowl. "Idiot. Saying that kind of thing to your Brigade Leader, you get a Penalty too!"

And just like that Kurumu's caution disappeared. This above all else she understood. A Maiden's heart struggling to express itself to her beloved. As a succubus love was her life's blood, her very reason for being. Haruhi may have been a Goddess, but she was still very much a woman in love, and Kurumu could never distrust that most pure of emotions. As long as they weren't directed at her Tsukune of course.

"Finally I'm Kyon. Unfortunately my real name was lost in the Crash, so that's it; just Kyon. I'm not really anything special, just an ordinary guy who somehow managed to get involved in an abnormal situation."

Mikuru placed their tea down with a clatter. "That isn't true! Kyon is a very special person! He is strong and reliable, even when everything seems to be going wrong he is always there doing the right thing!" Noticing Kurumu's stare she abruptly flushed and hid her face behind the tea tray. "At least that's what I believe."

"Agreed. He is unique. Irreplaceable."

Kurumu grinned joyously as she watched this exchange. Her grin only widened as she observed the terse frown on Haruhi's face, her previous fear long since abandoned. This world wasn't so different after all. Two girls facing an impossible challenge to have their feelings recognized by the one they loved, despite the overwhelming power of their rival in that goal. Yes, this she knew very well. It was the whole reason she had teamed up with Mizore in her 'Baseline' to form the Black and White Duet after all. Where one alone could never succeed, together they would overcome.

She hoped Mizore was doing okay as well, not that she doubted her friend's ability to thrive. She was her partner after all.

Mizore's eyes shot open in a panic, a wordless cry escaping from her lips. This was not helped in any way by the fact that she was apparently floating naked in a giant tube of amber liquid. Her frantic gaze swept the room she found herself in before dismissing it as irrelevant as her mind replayed the last few seconds of her life with heartbreaking clarity. Tsukune was gone, his still beating heart torn from his chest by a flaming fist. Without him, what was the point? All of their struggles, their fights, their dreams were worthless. There was no future without Tsukune.

Seeing as she was conveniently already surrounded by water, she simply breathed in and waited. And waited. And waited.

Releasing her breath, she experimentally took another. What was this? She was breathing water, or at least it seemed like water. It was thicker than it should have been and smelled off, which again shouldn't have been possible sense she was currently floating in it, but either way it still should have served its purpose as well as any other liquid. And yet she could breath it.

Reaching out she pushed against the glass before unleashing her birthright, the power of winter itself spreading outwards from her touch and encasing her in a prism of ice. Moments later it expanded, shattering the glass and at her command creating a ramp for her to walk down. She was in a large room with dim lighting, surrounded on three sides by walls of glass filled with more of the amber liquid. More importantly however, were the bodies floating suspended within as she had been. Walking closer she attempted to make out the features of the other figures, only to stumble back with a cry as she discovered that they all wore her face. Dozens, even hundreds of identical copies of her floated around her like some kind of twisted aquarium. And as if awakened by her shout, they all opened their eyes and looked at her with blood-red eyes.

-x-x-x-x-

Gendo Awoke to the sound of an alarm. Long time experience quickly distinguished the sound as that of an accident somewhere within NERV Headquarters rather than an approaching Angel, so he allowed himself the luxury of not reacting as he pulled up his display and contacted Ritsuko.

"Report."

The blonde scientist gave a flustered look through the monitor. "Sir, I don't know how but a moment ago the Magi detected a surge in power in Terminal Dogma. Approximately twenty percent of the Central Area has somehow been encased in a block of ice."

Gendo said nothing as he steepled his fingers before his face. "Very well. I'm coming down."

"Sir?"

"We cannot afford to lose the First Child. Nor can we allow Lilith to be released ahead of schedule." Standing he allowed Fuyutsuki to take over for him as he made his way to the elevator. Only once the doors had closed did he display the grimace he had kept from his face. Likely there was a Visiting Looper. Which also meant they were probably looking for him. Shinji may have granted him the chance to redeem himself, but he was very much in the minority on that subject and more often than not Fused Loops did not tend to last long for him. Even so; he was many things, but he was not a coward. He would face his death with whatever dignity he still possessed and move on to the next Loop.

With a sigh he reviewed his Loop Memories to try and understand exactly what he had to look forward to. It took very little time to prove his suspicions correct, someone had indeed Replaced Rei. It was not someone he recognized however, not that this meant anything to him. It was much more likely they had met his Unawake self at some point and were looking to extract their pound of flesh. Not for the first time he cursed his previous self's actions. If he had been a better father, a better husband, a better man...

But there would be time for self-recrimination later he reminded himself as the doors opened and he stepped out of the elevator, because directly in front of him was a clearly upset young woman wearing what appeared to be a yukata of some type made of frozen LCL. Her hair was a more violet shade than that of Rei's and shone with reflected lights as if made of crystal, or ice as was more likely the case given the situation. Additionally her hands appeared to sport a wicked set of claws, composed of the same material as her hair. One of which was currently resting an inch from his throat.

Odd, he could have sworn she had been further away from him a moment before.

"Who are you? What is this place?"

Gendo's mind froze for a split second, before a hundred thoughts flashed in rapid succession behind his gaze. Could it be? It wasn't unprecedented, and with the nature of the multiverse it was even inevitable he supposed, but the odds of him meeting a new Looper before they met his Unawake self – and more to the point being the one to inform them of the Loops – was so negligible that he had never bothered to place the necessary items into his Pocket. And Shinji wasn't due for another twenty one days, which coincidentally meant that not only did he have to explain the concept of Yggdrasil to a new Looper but then would have to somehow convince her to pilot a giant mechanical humanoid which was likely powered by the soul of a former clone of herself. (That bit of information was never quite certain in his experience and he hadn't exactly had time to surreptitiously question Dr. Akagi as of yet, having only just Awakened.)

He wondered if it would just be simpler to let her kill him.

Raising his hands in surrender Gendo came to a decision. "My name is Gendo Ikari, this is the lowest level of an underground facility known as Nerv."

The girl's clawed hand pressed more tightly against his skin, drawing a single drop of blood. "Why am I here? Why were there copies of me floating in that room?!"

Gendo closed his eyes. Well, either he was going to die or he wasn't; only one way to find out. Meeting the dark gaze of his possible executioner, he explained. "Humanity is currently involved in a war with supernatural beings known as Angels who seek the destruction of all life as we know it. Nerv is the last realistic hope of combating these creatures and preventing the end of the world. The person you are Replacing is a clone of my – of my dead wife, made using the cells of the source of human life on this planet; the Angel known as Lilith. The clones you saw in that room are replacements to be used should you be killed, or as the source of an artificial pilot for our only weapon against the Angels; the Ultimate All-Purpose Humanoid Decisive Battle Weapon: Evangelion, giant bio-lifeforms created through asexual fission from the remains of Lilith, enhanced with cybernetics and mechanical grafts and imbued with the Soul of a single human.

"In my original lifetime this fight was successful in that all of the Angels were defeated and Humanity saved however, much as you are now doing with the woman you are Replacing, at that time my son had been Replaced by an utter fool by the name of Billy who was given the choice of setting the course for the human race. The results were... disturbing. It was at this point I Awoke to the truth of reality and began repeating time, much as I suspect you yourself are doing. If you wish I will explain what is happening and we can move on from there. Or, as most others choose, you may kill me and seek the truth from my son when he arrives slightly less than a month from now."

The woman was silent as she stared in disbelief for several seconds, before slowly lowering her arm; which reverted to a more normal appearance alongside her hair. Quietly releasing a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding, Gendo gestured to the elevator; before entering himself, knowing that she would likely be unwilling to let him stand at her back. As far as he was concerned, Shinji could not get here soon enough.

-x-x-x-x-

Sitting across from Gendo in a small office, one thought ran rampant through Mizore's mind.

 _'He's alive, he's Alive, He's Alive, HE'S ALIVE!'  
_  
The story she was being told was ridiculous, preposterous, utterly unbelievable in any way. And yet, Mizore found herself unable to do anything other than stare in stunned disbelief at the man named Gendo as he spoke. Angels, underground facilities, the end of the world, gods, multiple universes, time loops and giant mulitdimensional supercomputers in the shape of a tree which controlled all of reality... this was the kind of insanity she and her lovers had done their best to prevent. And now by some stupid fluke she found herself trapped in another world, cut off from everything and everyone she knew and loved and being asked to take part in some demented war against multiple giant monsters; any of which would be an even match for Alucard.

And yet she didn't care, because Tsukune was _alive_. Sure, okay she had no idea when she'd see him again; and yes, she was still worried about all the rest of her lovers... but he was ALIVE. Whatever else happened, that alone was enough to ensure that she remained happy until she could be with him again. Which Gendo assured her was a good thing, because the world she was currently in was a 'crapsack world.' His words, not hers.

"As I was unprepared to give you the Welcome Speech, there are several additional details you'll need to ask for from my son; but for the time being I suppose I've covered the basics. However, now there is the issue of what to do next." Gendo frowned for a moment and placed his interlocked hands in front of his face before continuing. "In the original timeline the woman you are Replacing was injured attempting a test run of the Evangelion Unit-00, which is scheduled for less than an hour from now. Had I Awoken earlier I could have modified the device to better sync with your particular AT Field, but as it stands that is not an option."

Mizore frowned slightly before removing the sucker she had forced Gendo to provide for her from her mouth. "You said that these Evangelions are powered by the pilot's 'AT Field', an inner energy which every creature in your world possesses, correct?"

Gendo quirked an eye, and nodded.

Mizore smirked. "My world has a similar energy."

Closing his eyes for a moment, Gendo silently contemplated this before nodding. "Very well, if you believe you are capable of handling the test then we will proceed accordingly. I wish you luck." He gave a self-deprecating smile. "It is not often I have the opportunity to interact with Loopers in a way that doesn't involve massive amounts of pain. As I'm sure you can imagine, it's a concept that I am admittedly fond of."

Mizore frowned briefly and idly swirled her candy around thoughtfully. "You mentioned earlier that I could choose to kill you 'as most others do'; why is that? What did you do to them that make them hate you so much?"

If she hadn't been looking for a reaction, she might have missed the grimace which appeared and disappeared in rapid succession across Gendo's face. He was silent for a moment, before he glanced at his watch and gave a sigh.

"There should be time enough before the test. So be it, allow me to tell you the story of my future past. Better that you hear it now before you have a chance to experience it yourself." He took a second to gather himself before speaking again. "It all began when I met Yui..."

"So what? I just walk across the street and somehow end up in a separate bubble universe?"

"I'm not exactly sure, Koizumi never really explained how he does it. You just kinda concentrate and move to the area where the sensations are coming from until you feel it everywhere. I can't actually get there on my own and the one time I bothered to try and watch the actual transition ended with me on the ground nursing a splitting headache so I can't really tell you what to look for. Just check your Loop Memories, it should all be there."

Okay, lets set the scene. The time is seven forty-eight in the morning. The place is the middle of a crosswalk; surrounded by pedestrians trying (and failing) to ignore a pair of teenagers having a discussion, as they go about their daily commute to and from work. The teenagers in question are a blue-haired young woman who wouldn't be out of place as an Idol on television or billboards, and a thoroughly average young man. That would be me.

About a week after the Loop started I finally figured out why Koizumi never bothered to call, and it wasn't because he wasn't Awake. No, it was because Haruhi in her infinite wisdom had delegated the role of keeping her subconscious from reshaping reality on a whim not to Espers this Loop but to Youkai. More specifically Succubi; but not Incubi. So, sorry Koizumi; better luck next time. Apparently before she had Awoken Haruhi had been fascinated by both various Youkai legends and the act of Lucid Dreaming, which had narrowed her attention to those beings known for creating and entering dreams.

Unfortunately I found this out by our newest Club member dragging us all into a shared dream. What the heck, can't a guy even get a few hours to himself in the privacy of his own head!

Which meant that now it was up to me to educate Kurumu on the finer details of Haruhi 101. Give me a break.

-x-x-x-x-

Kurumu closed her eyes with a determined frown as she focused on the strange feeling she had been dealing with for the past few hours. It had hit her rather suddenly out of nowhere during one of the planning sessions her Brigade Leader had set up in a local cafe, and after describing it she had been met with a flushed look from Haruhi and an exasperated sigh from next to her where Kyon was sitting between her and Mikuru. That had devolved into a set of explanations which left her head reeling, both from the technical aspects offered by Yuki and the implications of the situation as a whole.

Nevertheless she was nothing if not resilient and she took to her new task with her typical upbeat attitude. After all it wasn't everyday you had the chance to explore the mind of a goddess.

Of course that was easier done in theory than practice, and it had taken a few tries for her to locate the generation of a 'Closed Space' before the other members of the Organization she apparently belonged to in this 'Loop' took care of it. But now her efforts would pay off, and all she had to do was... ah-hah!

Grabbing Kyon's arm she rushed forward, ignoring the sound of his startled yelp as she dragged him along towards the distortion she felt. Instincts from her memories of hundreds of previous events exactly like this acted on their own and her wings and tail appeared moments before she felt a ripple of energy flow across her skin and she took to the air above the suddenly empty streets. On the ground Kyon was getting to his feet and mumbling about the lack of warning, but Kurumu ignored him as she savored the feeling of her success.

"Ya~hoo~hoo!"

"Gah!" Kyon's cry echoed around the silent area as he turned his pained gaze from Kurumu's radiant form; literally in this case, as her body was currently encased in a blazing glow of energy as bright as a flood light. "Okay, first thing you need to know is that in a Sealed Reality your powers are based on emotions, hence the glowing. Speaking of which, would you mind turning it down?"

Kurumu smiled sheepishly, not that it could be seen through the corona of energy surrounding her, and allowed her excitement to cool until she was hovering only a few feet above the ground and only shining about as brightly as a desk lamp. "Okay, so now what? We managed to get here, but what's the point?"

In response Kyon simply pointed behind her. Turning to look, Kurumu's jaw fell as her eyes rose higher and higher into the air to take in the massive creature in front of her. Whatever it was, it looked remarkably similar to the image of a neuron she had seen in one of Yukari's textbooks; at least if a neuron had been given a humanoid shape and enlarged to the size of a small skyscraper. Other than a single large spot which could generously be called an eye and a system of 'veins' throughout its glowing blue body it lacked any distinguishing features. Unless you counted _huge_ as a feature.

Turning back to the clearly deranged human who had brought her here, she pointed incredulously at the towering behemoth as it casually smashed a nearby building into rubble. "What the hell?! You expect me to fight that thing! Are you crazy?!"

Kyon held up his hands in a warding gesture. "Hey, take it easy. It's not as bad as it looks. See?" He pointed back towards the giant, which was swatting at several lights that were flying around it at rapid speeds. As Kurumu watched, one of the lights proceeded to sheer off from the rest and with a corkscrew around the things torso cut it in half. Immediately the group of bright figures turned and sped off towards another of the Alucard sized monsters.

"Those are probably the other members of your group. Your powers in here are specifically designed to make taking down Celestials easier. Haruhi doesn't really want the current world to end, so she gave you everything you need to make sure she doesn't go too far. It's all in your memories, you just need to work on controlling it."

Kurumu hesitantly examined her hands, their glow brightening in response. With a breathe she turned her gaze on a Celestial that hadn't been noticed by the others just yet. "Okay, alright. It's just like during training." Kurumu paused as she recalled the training they had done prior to the fight with Fairy Tail. With a shudder she shook her head. "Not like training, not at all like training." Even thousands of years later, and having long since outgrown anything the Huangs or Fuhai could teach her, that was a month of hell that she dreaded recalling. However... there were _some_ benefits to time-travel.

Straightening, she moved her hand out to the side with her fingers razor straight. Following her thoughts, she gathered her Youki along with the new energy she possessed and focused it into a single edge. One which vibrated between dimensions at a rate of one hundred times a second. Raising her arm, she slashed outward; the resulting wave of pure energy ripping through the air. Literally; the Hougetsu Jigen-Tou tore apart the fabric of the pocket world she was in for a split second as it passed, allowing flashes of normal light to appear in its wake before the gray sky of the Closed Space resealed around it.

Unceremoniously, the attack met the Celestial head-on and passed through it without resistance. Kurumu grinned and gave a cheer. "Ha! Take that! Who's next?"

Without warning, the Sealed Reality began breaking apart as the Celestial was eliminated. Kurumu found herself flying above the heads of several pedestrians, who quickly took notice of the winged Youkai girl. Kurumu's smile froze as she found herself the center of attention – the one time she didn't want to be!

"Uh...Hi"

-x-x-x-x-

It took several minutes for Kurumu to hypnotize the people who had seen her into forgetting her, and several more after that apologizing to Mrs. Mori – who whether as a human or youkai was terrifying when angry – for the trouble they would have to go through to censor the street cameras, but eventually we managed to make it back to the cafe where the others were waiting.

"You're late! Penalty! You'll have to pay for everyone to make up for your tardiness."

Of course, what else is new? Luckily, I no longer need worry about my poor defenseless wallet thanks to the Loops; but still. would it kill you to pay for your own drinks once in a blue moon?

"So Kurumu, what was that thing you did at the end? For a second there I felt something strange."

Hey, don't ignore me!

"That was a technique I learned from my world called the Jigen-Tou, it cuts through dimensions like a saw a full hundred times a second!"

Kurumu at least appeared to have recovered from her visit to Sealed Space, if the elaborate gestures she was making were any indication. At the very least it kept Haruhi happy, which was good for everyone. As long as no extra problems occurred, hopefully I may actually be able to just enjoy the rest of the Loop.

"Do you think I could learn to use it?"

...Sigh. Of course not. Haruhi wouldn't be Haruhi otherwise.

Shinji awoke, as he did frequently, staring at a payphone. A quick check of his Loop Memories showed him no deviations from the Baseline so far and a follow-up examination proved he wasn't Pocket Locked. Nodding to himself he prepared to wait on Misato, before a voice sounded from far closer than he expected.

"Heeee~ey."

Shinji paled, and nearly had a heart attack, before realizing that that was not the voice of nightmares. Turning to his left, he found himself looking at a light violet haired woman in a modified school uniform of some kind, smirking around lollipop.

"He wasn't kidding. You really do panic whenever you hear someone say it that way." she said amusedly.

No longer preparing to unleash a Kamehameha, not that it would have done much but buy him an extra second or two, he gave a chuckle. "Good one. You're pretty good, I didn't even notice you there. I was out of it for a minute, but I'm Awake now."

"This is the part where I ask for an Anchor right?" the girl asked.

Shinji nodded. "Yeah. New Looper?"

"In a sense. This is my first Fused Loop, but apparently my Branch has been Looping for a while now." she said with a frown.

Shinji nodded and checked the sun's position. "That's rough. We should probably start moving soon, in about a minute a giant humanoid monster bent on destroying humanity is going to come crashing through the city, and I'd rather not get covered in cement dust. Rei doesn't like it when I'm show up covered in dirt." Pulling a motorcycle out of his Pocket he gestured for the girl to get on. "Since you said this is your first Fused Loop I'm guessing you don't know about me, so I should introduce myself. My name's Shinji Ikari, member of the Original 7 (and Kurama), slayer of Angels, kicker of all kinds of ass and Anchor for Tokyo-3. Nice to meet you."

The girl raised an eyebrow, but accepted the offer and climbed on the back of Shinji's bike. "I am Mizore Shirayuki."

Shinji laughed a bit and started the engine. "Just Mizore Shirayuki? No special history, no awesome titles?"

Mizore was silent for a moment as Shinji took to the streets, before answering. She contemplated avoiding the subject, but according to Gendo Shinji had seen more than she could even imagine in his life and wouldn't have even bat an eye at her status as a youkai. Besides, Tsukune would be disappointed with her if she didn't even try to get along with other humans. "I'm a Yuki-onna."

Shinji hmm'd a bit. "Let's see, it's been at least a thousand years since the last time I met a snow woman. Neat. Hey hold on a second, I'm gonna gun it a bit. This'll be a bit tough, but just trust me alright."

She did as asked, and their ride jumped ahead as they took several corners in rapid succession. Ahead, an open-top footbridge rapidly came closer; Shinji angling his bike directly toward it. Picking up speed he pulled back and jumped the bike onto the railing, roaring along the side at 190kmh and rising. In quick succession he jumped the bike off of several light posts, a low hanging balcony and a highrise; using a flare of flame between each jump to push him further and higher. Finally he came to a stop atop one of the smaller buildings and turned off the engine.

Mizore jumped off the bike as if scalded. "Are you insane?" she demanded.

Shinji shrugged. "A little bit. I just wanted to get to higher ground so I could show you the Angel from a safe distance."

Mizore frowned angrily. "And if you had explained that beforehand, I could have told you that I already took care of the Angel." she told him rather matter-of-factly.

Shinji paused. "Oh. So wait, that means you Replaced... shit. Alright, please tell me you found yourself in Europe when you first Woke Up." Seeing her blank look, he cursed again.

"Alright, look. The person you're Replacing doesn't have a lot to look forward to in the Baseline. We try to prevent most of the crap that goes on, but half the time someone Replaces Rei the Branch ends up railroading our efforts. You mentioned a 'he' before, I guess that means my _Father_ is Awake." Mizore gave a curious look to the venom in his tone, but Shinji ignored it as she nodded confirmation.

"As much as I don't like it, his being here makes this much easier. You said you already took out Sachiel, so that... Wait. How did you beat the Angel?" he questioned curiously.

In answer, Mizore pointed towards the bay with her sucker. Standing knee deep in the water, currently powered down and being swarmed by Nerv technicians, stood Unit-00. Shinji blinked. "Okay, how?"

Mizore smirked and removed her human disguise. "As I mentioned before, I am a Yuki-onna. I saturated the LCL with my Youki and took control of the Evangelion when it tried to go berserk."

Shinji laughed and grinned appreciatively. "Maybe this won't be so hard after all. Hopefully we can avoid turning everyone into tang."

Mizore smirked in satisfaction. It wasn't as amusing a reaction as the scientist Ritsuko, but she'd take it. Gendo had told her all about what to expect from the rest of the Loop, and it wasn't pretty, but she was confident she would make it through this and when she next saw Tsukune she'd have an amazing story to tell.

* * *

10.1 – Soul Beasts are neither easy nor fun. One thing they are however, is big. Very, very big.  
10.2 – Even DIO takes time in between his casual genocide and rampant destruction to enjoy fine cuisine.  
10.3 – Among Nappa's many, many talents is an expert grasp of navigation. No really. I mean it. Seriously.  
10.4 – Time travel, sentient meteors, psychic battles… just another day in the life of Sly Cooper.  
10.5 – Metaphysical instability can lead to some… interesting variations.  
10.6 – Actor allusion is always fun.  
10.7 – They've always been a duet, no reason to change that now. Two for one, for the win.


	11. Chapter 11

11.1 – (KrisOverstreet)

[Haruhi Suzumiya]

I Awoke, in both senses of the word, to the ringing of my cell phone.

"Hello?" I said, not having bothered to look at the incoming number.

"Listen carefully," an all too familiar voice snapped at me. "When you introduce yourself today, don't you dare do anything clever! Keep it normal and simple, right? Like the very first time you did it! Don't you even think of making fun of me this time! Understand?"

The previous Loop I'd been a student at a school in Tokyo, in a world where my life- my original life- was a popular science-fiction story. Of course, my life being anything but simple, Haruhi was there too, and she'd learned the full truth about herself. By the end she'd been experimenting with her powers, getting frustrated at how difficult it was to do small things like pull 100-yen coins out of midair. Because, in Haruhi's mind, the impossible should be easy and simple, right?

Now she wasn't just frustrated. She was furious. She was ready to explode. I thought of Koizumi, who right now must be dealing with a closed space that stretched from Tokyo to Hiroshima. When it comes to dealing with Haruhi's frustration, he gets the easy job.

"All right," I said. "I'll keep it simple." After a moment I added, "Would you like to talk-"

Click. She hung up.

Oh, brother. Six-thirty in the morning, and I wake up to a new Loop with a Typhoon Haruhi warning, both red flags flapping at the top of the mast.

I admit it was tempting to disobey, to snark about aliens, time travelers and espers again. That temptation vanished when I saw Haruhi in class 1-5 that morning. I didn't say a word to her. I didn't need to. The fact that she wouldn't look anybody in the eye told me now was not the time. When Haruhi feels something really powerful she tries to conceal it. The more she curls away from other people, like a whelk in the shell, the stronger that feeling is. Obviously this feeling was about to burst out regardless, and she was trying to save it until the right moment.

So, purely out of curiosity for what it would be, I followed my script, giving a normal, average, unmemorable introduction. I knew that what followed me would be anything but.

"From East Middle School, Haruhi Suzumiya. We have no time to waste in idleness or inaction. The only moment we are given is now. If we fail to act here and now, when we can, we waste the moment that, once gone, can never be called back! I will never fail to make every moment of my life as interesting as possible! You can all follow, or watch, or stay out of my way, because I won't be stopped! That is all!"

As expected, entirely unexpected. In my case, doubly so, since with time apparently repeating wasted moments would indeed be called back, and who knew when they would stop? And Haruhi knew this already. What, then, had caused this inexplicable reaction?

When I tried to ask her about it directly, she simply shook her head. She avoided me at lunch, and when classes ended, instead of going to try out some club or to take over the Literature Club room, she headed for the shoe lockers. Obviously, for whatever reason, she intended to go home early, with no explanation even to me.

I followed her down the hill and past the train station at the bottom. Once she and I were well away from any other students, I asked, "You still haven't explained why you introduced yourself that way this time."

Haruhi kept marching, not even glancing at me. "Don't be annoying."

How cruel. I'm just acting in this moment, so it won't be wasted.

"And don't say silly things like that where other people can hear you."

Well, forgive me for making this moment of my life as interesting as possible.

This time Haruhi didn't rise to my bait, and we walked together in silence for a couple more blocks. Finally she said, "What was the last thing you remember before this morning? And I don't mean yesterday."

Of course I knew what she meant, even though- at that point- nobody had told us what the Loops were. We had a sort of second set of memories leading up to when we Awoke, and then we had our true memories... or so I would say, except that's really oversimplifying. "We went to a certain amusement park on the outskirts of Tokyo," I said. "We were celebrating having both been accepted into Todai. And I still don't know how I managed it."

Normally Haruhi would have made a remark about how useless or lazy or stupid I was, and how it was only her hard work that had dragged me up to a minimally acceptable level, or something like that. I was tempted to say it for her, especially since she spent several seconds in silent walking without so much as opening her mouth.

Finally, just as I'd put together a nice witty follow-up, she said, "Something else happened to me between then and now. I went someplace else. Without you."

I froze. I stopped in my tracks, there on the sidewalk. Thankfully Haruhi stopped too, or else the conversation would have become awkward.

Without me? Where, exactly?

"Did you ever watch the American show, 'Star Trek', as a kid?"

Occasionally, not often.

"I was there, Kyon. I was in that universe. The part of it with the bald-headed captain and the bigger ship and the Borg and things."

I think I have a vague recollection of which series you mean. The idea of Haruhi as a crewman on the Enterprise-

"I wasn't a crewman."

Of course not. As captain of the-

"I never set foot on a starship at all."

Never set foot- how does that work? How did you know it was Star Trek, then?

"Because I was a Q."

Haruhi took a step back towards me, her hands trembling slightly.

"I can kind of feel my power, here and now," she said quietly. "There's so very much of it, and most of it feels like it's just out of reach. It's like sitting in a bus, feeling the engines running, the floorboard shaking under my feet, and all I'm allowed to do is open and close the doors and ring the bell." She looked up at me, those brown eyes half-sad, half-furious. "But in the Q Continuum, I could feel it all. I could _use_ it all. I could _understand_ it all. The power to change any part of time and space I felt like, to make anything happen. To make _everything_ happen."

That must have been wonderful. I've always wished I could understand everything, and I'm lucky to understand anything.

"You don't understand anything at all." Haruhi turned away, bowing her head. In a small voice she added, "It was horrible."

Now I really didn't understand. The previous time around Haruhi had been angry that this power had been kept secret from her, determined to make it her own and to use it every chance she got. Now... this? After she'd had her chance to do exactly that?

"The problem with being omnipotent and omniscient," Haruhi continued, "is you know how everything will play out before you do it. If you can do anything by just thinking about it, and if you can see how it ends before you do it, why do it at all?" She hugged herself. "The Q Continuum was barren. Sterile. Eternal and unchanging. There was nothing new to experience, nothing unexpected, nothing but absolute, unchanging, eternal boredom. We could do anything. Mostly, we did nothing. Why do anything, if nothing is fun?"

That one Q did a lot, if I recall.

"You still don't understand," Haruhi snapped. "If we tried, we could find ways of making things unexpected. But after a point we just... gave up." She threw up her hands in frustration. "I don't know how to explain it to you, Kyon. I've spent all day trying to figure it out, and I still can't get the words to work. All I can say is, I had all the power, all the knowledge, and _it wasn't any damn fun at all!_ "

Does that mean you're going to give up on trying to control your power?

"Of course not! But... but I'm not sure what I want, really. That's why I didn't want to talk to you, understand? I need to work this out on my own."

Fine by me... but in the meantime-

"On my own, I said! That's all!"

I watched her storm away, not following her this time. I was too busy thinking about the one aspect of her previous Loop Haruhi hadn't brought up. That one Q, the one who got all the screen time in the show, made his own fun by toying with mortal creatures. The reaction of his fellow Q varied depending on the episode, but they certainly seemed to let him get away with a lot. Still, he certainly didn't seem bored to ennui; on the contrary. That Q wasn't waiting for Godot or anybody else.

And yet Haruhi had avoided that entire line of action whatever, as if it didn't exist.

That made me feel a little better about things. Apparently our goddess-in-training did have a moral event horizon she wasn't willing to go beyond.

Speaking as one of the mortals involved, that came as quite a bit of a relief.

* * *

11.2 – (Leviticus Wilkes)

[Bleach/Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy]

"Hi!"

Ichigo Kurosaki, walking around the Soul Society, turned around when he heard the greeting that was obvious addressed to him. The speaker was a small boy with a red cap, a white shirt with a blue stripe, and a ludicrously large nose. "I'm Billy. Wanna play?"

Ichigo spent all of zero seconds entertaining the notion of playing with Billy. MLE! MLE! WE'VE GOT BILLY! FIND AIZEN AND GET HIM OUT OF HERE!"

Ichigo broke into a flat sprint, tapping into the Speed Force and hurtling to where Rukia was. The soul reaping Looper was already moving. "What is it?"

"Billy! Grab Aizen and run, we can't let him find-"

Rukia and Ichigo ground to a halt, staring at the abjectly terrifying scene in front of them. There was Aizen Sousuke, false mastermind of a million plans, standing in front of Billy, MLE. Billy was speaking. "Hi."

Aizen, keeping up the appearance of a fairly nice and nerdy guy, replied politely with his own "Hello."

"Hi."

"Hello."

"Hi."

"Hello."

"Hi.

"Hello."

Rukia and Ichigo began to ever so slowly creep towards Aizen and Billy. "No sudden moves. No loud sounds," Rukia whispered.

"Gently... gently..." Ichigo murmured, raising his Zanpakuto over his head.

"Hey, do you like fire?" Billy said, now holding handfuls of fire.

Ichigo, Rukia and Aizen froze. "Oh no," Ichigo said.

-x-x-x-x-

"MLE crashes our Loop and we end up in Eiken. How's that fair?" Ichiko grumbled.

Rukia didn't answer. It was because she genuinely lacked an answer, and because she was too busy focusing on not over balancing. Her dexterity was shot thanks to her spectacular and sudden increase in cup size that was mandatory in Eiken.

Ichiko kicked a rock across the school courtyard. "I fucking hate this Loop."

Rukia, momentarily self-assured that she could walk without falling over, did reply now. "Ichigo, at least Aizen hasn't shown up. Be glad for that."

Ichiko growled quietly. "I'll believe that when I see what home room is like."

Miraculously though, Aizen did not appear to be in home room. Not a single student had a recognizable mark that identified them as Aizen Sousuke, and when Ichiko asked for Aizen, no one answered. It seemed they were in luck.

...until their substitute teacher arrived, half-drunk and badly hungover. "Oka-hic! Okay class... free day," their teacher said.

One of the students, Lin May, raised a hand. "Uh, Sousuke-Sensei, are you... uh... drunk?"

Aizen Sousuke, substitute teacher, looked at Lin May. "Sweetheart, I have seen some real shit. I need this."

In the back, Ichiko and Rukia picked up their backpacks, put their faces into them, and screamed their lungs out.

-x-x-x-x-

It was the Loop after that Ichigo saw something strange. Aizen was, again, drinking. But Aizen didn't remember Billy. Ichigo had searched Aizen's mind to the point that Aizen was under the impression that someone was reading his mind, but couldn't find a trace of Billy.

It was the same one Loop later. And the Loop after that. Ichigo couldn't explain it, not at first. Eventually though, Rukia offered the best answer.

"It's Billy. Aizen's memories get wiped every reset, but he's drinking to scrub everything else that remains."

* * *

11.3 – (Firehawk242)

[Hellsing/Winx]

"You're Flora right?"

Flora glanced up from the book she was reading. A blonde woman in a yellow uniform was standing there. "Yes, I'm Flora. Who are you?"

"Seras Victoria," the woman said. "I hear you're my new sister."

"Sister?" Flora asked, confused.

"You're a fledgling of Alucard, which makes you my sister," Seras said. "I hear you went through my Loop as me."

"Yes, but I was told it was the Abridged Variant," Flora said.

"Oh," Seras said. "Oh my, that's a rough one."

"It had its moments," Flora said.

"I suppose it would," Seras said. "Do you want to go get a drink? The first round's on me. Or do you not drink?"

"I started after I ran into Billy," Flora said with a shudder.

"Ouch," Seras said. "Tell you what, the first _two_ rounds are on me. Let's go."

-x-x-x-x-

"So, you're a full vampire?" Seras asked, putting her empty glass down on the bar. "You've drunk blood?"

"Yes," Flora said. "It was in the same Loop I turned into a vampire."

"Who was it?" Seras asked. "Pip?"

"Who's Pip?" Flora asked. "No, it was one of the Hellsing soldiers. He died in the battle in London. I couldn't heal him. I needed the power to fight back, so..."

"You mean they didn't all die when the estate was attacked by the Valentine brothers?" Seras asked.

"No," Flora said. "Well, sort of. It's complicated."

"I'll take your word for it," Seras said. "Have you ever turned anyone else into a vampire?"

"Um, I tried once," Flora said. "It didn't exactly work as planned."

"Oh really?" Seras asked. "Well, do tell."

"Okay, there's this guy, Prince Sky, he's Bloom's boyfriend. He dies in the second year of the Loop, but Bloom brings him back. Somehow. I never really understood how that one worked, and neither does she," Flora said. "So one Loop, he's dying and Bloom wasn't there because of changes I'd made to the Loop."

"So you try to turn him into a vampire to save him?" Seras asked.

"Yes," Flora said. "Looking back, I probably should have used fairy dust to heal him, but I didn't really have much time."

"So what went wrong?" Seras asked.

"Well," Flora said. "There was this really awkward moment when he came back as a ghoul instead of a vampire."

"Oh," Seras said. "Did you... explain this to Bloom?"

"No, and I never want to," Flora said. "Once he was a ghoul I used my fairy dust to turn him back into a human. And that was the end of it."

"You mean you didn't tell anyone about this?"

"You're the first," Flora said. "I don't really like talking about it."

"I can see why," Seras said. "Well, it was nice talking with you. I think you'll make a great little sister."

Flora smiled slightly and emptied her glass.

* * *

11.4 – (Tabac Iberez)

[Girls und Panzer/How To Train Your Dragon]

Coming to in a small, rather decrepit wooden shack in clothes that were most definitely not hers and in a suit of clothes that made her long for that one Loop where the school uniforms were swimsuits of all things, Miho looked around. Across the oddly big room, another person slept under their covers, snoring lightly. Getting up, Miho stocked the fire, and took a peek outside. Relaxing a minute, Miho started to separate her Loop Memories from her Looping memories. Rather like clockwork, the other person woke, and raised. Coming up to her, the man smiled and cast back into his own Loop Memories.

"So, it appears I have a daughter this Loop," he said, gruffly. "As I don't rightly recognize you, mind telling me your name and Home Loop?"

Miho nodded, and bowed politely. "Miho Nishizumi, sir. As for Home Loop, this is my... second or third Loop off my main."

The man chuckled, and held out a great paw of a hand. "Stoic the Vast, of Berk. Tell me, how do you feel about training up dragons?" -x-x-x-x-

Miho was very ambivalent on the subject of training up dragons until one of them blew up the shed in which she'd been keeping her designs for a steam tank in. Then, she just cracked her knuckles. She normally wasn't the kind of person to try and take revenge. Still, that had been a really good set of draft plans... -x-x-x-x-

"Ahm, Mistletoe?" Gobber asked, looking at the monstrosity his now-female apprentice was building in the back. "What is that?"

"This," Miho said, proudly, "This is a Nerblewerfer."

"And, what exactly does it do?"

"It werfs nerbles." -x-x-x-x-

Come next dragon attack, an Awake Snoutlout looked out over the bluff as six massive rockets went screaming into the mass of attacking dragons. A hundred pounds of explosives apiece with anti-air heads made the resulting carnage much messier than Hiccup's thingy. Miho, out of the line of sight due to the Nerblewerfer's back-blast issues saw just about nothing.

"Oh dear," he said, grumbling. -x-x-x-x- After reloading her Nerblewerfer, Miho grabbed her winch and tugged it back about seventy feet to protect it from counter-battery fire. She wasn't sure the dragons would understand the concept of counter-battery fire as it had never happened to them before, but paranoia was the better part of valor and all that. Finished, she went to a sufficiently small ravine to get started on her next project. -x-x-x-x-  
Stoic was just flat confused by the newest Looper's behavior. Scratching his head, he went over to Gobber.

"So, Gobber..." he started.

"This reminds you of Baseline where Hiccup couldn't communicate for crap, doesn't it."

"Yep."

"And seeing as she Replaced Hiccup, instead of just being his sister..."

"Rather obvious. I think Astrid might be Awake this time around. Want me to make sure and tell her to boot up the good old 'Hiccup went to Bermuda' plan again?"

"Yep."

-x-x-x-x-

Looking out of her now very fortified bunker in what was once a ravine, Miho congratulated herself on paying attention to Astrid when she had been explaining the Pocket. As such, she had a monstrous machine shop in there, one of the micro power plants Saunders used, and a lot of raw material.

A LOT of raw material.

As the black alpha dragon started crawling onto the beach, Miho grinned and cracked her fingers. One person, in one machine shop, could build one Nerblewerfer fairly easily. One person, who could use the machine shop to build an automated production line to build Nerblewerfers, another to build munitions, and a last to build a fire control system could build an island defense grid quite easily. Now all she needed to do was double-check her calculations, get the range on the Alpha Dragon, and send out her warning drone.

-x-x-x-x-

Warming up with Astrid and the rest of the dragon riders, Stoic grabbed Mjolnir and got ready to deliver Drago and co. a first-rate ass whuppin when a large drone flew overhead blaring a message.

"ALL PERSONS, PLEASE FOLLOW THE FLARES. ALL PERSONS, PLEASE FOLLOW THE FLARES."

Shrugging, the Dragonriders of Berk got ready to go to war as the rest of the people followed the flares confusedly.

-x-x-x-x-

Once the drone returned, Miho grinned and muttered, typing in a command.

"Target is 2,500 yards from Fire Control Alpha. Battery one, fire one round and hold position."

-x-x-x-x-

As the shots flew out, the Alpha Bewilderbeast looked up and saw twenty-five hundred pound warhead rockets fly into it. Roaring, it reared up on it's hind legs as the Dragonriders challenged Drago.

-x-x-x-x-

"Target not damaged. Hmm. Batteries two through five, repeat."

-x-x-x-x-

The Alpha Bewilderbeast was now blinded, deafened, and pissed. While Stoic dueled Drago, the Dragonriders got the hell out. If they hadn't been in the shadow of the Alpha, they would have been shredded.

-x-x-x-x-

Miho swore. "Batteries one through ten, fire six rounds and fall back to reload waldos. Batteries eleven through twenty, fire two rounds HESH. Batteries twenty one through thirty, move to secondary launch positions."

The tedious wording of this order was important, as Miho wasn't fluent in programming yet. Of course, her definition of proficient was most people's definition of master, and most Looper's definition of "has been bored to tears too many times". Either way, shots went out.

-x-x-x-x-

The HESH rounds, having been designed as a form of anti-armor, were much more effective than their HE counterparts, which were designed as a form of skysweeping. The Alpha Bewilderbeast took a knee, it's armored hide pulped by the plastic explosive. Draco, having long been pounded into submission, would have then called it off if he could. Any way it was sliced, it was a net victory for Berk. Seeing this, Miho smiled.

"Battery fifty, target location site one. Fire six rounds, and retreat to waldos."

As the fireworks show start, Miho smiled. This was certainly a Loop well-spent in terms of theory transitioning to practice.

* * *

11.5 – (Dalxein)

[Gurren Lagann]

This Fused Loop was not going well. The Gurren was already trashed before they could even fuse up, Lagann tossed halfway across the planet with Simon still inside it, And Kamina was honestly not sure if his left arm was broken or dislocated, but it was hanging painfully limp and bloody at his side. This was shaping up to be another Crashed Loop already...

Then, in a flash of light, a massive sword speared into the ground in front of him. It gleamed with ethereal light from the many branched prongs along the blade. Attached was a note.

"Go nuts, bro.

-Susanoo"

With a grin, he grabbed the hilt of the Ten-Span Sword with his working hand and charged.

-x-x-x-x-

"I'm not sure it was such a good idea to give him a copy of your sword. Even a tenth of its actual power could be dangerous." Epona stated as she worked away trying to stabilize the Loop.

"Uhh... Copy?" Susanoo asked.

The sound of typing abruptly stopped. With a slow, deliberate motion, the lower-class Admin turned to glare at her boss. "You didn't."

"Didn't what?"

She was fuming, now. "You did not just give your actual sword, a divine, Administrator-level weapon to one of the most chaotic if not functionally insane Loopers in the system! This is like handing the Hulk the Actual Admin Thor's Mjolnir! You have no idea how bad this is, do you!?" By this time she was raging in his face as he leaned back desperately trying to not make the horse goddess any angrier.

"I'll replace it with a 1/20 power copy between Loops, okay?" He tried, hoping it would appease her wrath.

She backed away, smoothing her ruffled mane back into a proper office bun. "If he Crashes either Loop with that thing before then, I'm going to get Ammy to lock you in the sun again."

As she went back to her terminal to assess the damage, Susanoo couldn't help but whimper and hope his faith in his favorite Looper was well-founded.

* * *

11.6 – (DrTempo/TrueZero2)

[JoJo/MLP]

From the Journal of Sunset Shimmer:

 _My next Loop was that of the Joestar family's. This Loop has several Anchors, all of whom are part of the aforementioned family. I Awoke during the era of Jonathan Joestar. In order to stop his adopted brother turned vampire Dio Brando, Jonathan learned Hamon, a secret art which allows the user to channel the power of the sun._

 _Speaking of Dio, he's actually a Looper, and both his cruel nature and his desire to gain godlike power made him an MLE. He first made his appearance during the epic battle many Loopers had in the Lord of the Rings Loop, and has been causing mayhem ever since, turning many people into vampires and storing them in his Subspace Pocket, among other things. He is pure evil. Luckily, many other Loopers are more than strong enough to stop him if need be, as it seems he has mainly stuck with Baseline abilities, which also includes a 'Stand'. It's some sort of guardian spirit, and Dio's has the power to briefly freeze time._

 _Back to my bizarre adventure. When the time came to face him, I made sure that Dio wouldn't survive the battle as he did in Baseline (which also allowed him to kill Jonathan). I slashed him to ribbons, and before he could react, I used a Mega Flare spell to disintegrate him to atoms. Luckily, he wasn't Awake, or it would have been a MUCH tougher fight._

 _After that, I trained for a few decades, until the next Anchor, Joseph, began his adventure to defeat the "Pillar Men", the men who had created the artifacts which allowed Dio to gain vampiric power in the first place. Joseph, besides having learned Hamon himself, also has a Stand called Hermit Purple, which can act like a whip while also conducting Joseph's Hamon. Speaking of Stands, a rumor once existed among Loopers that only a Stand could defeat another Stand, but that has been debunked for a long time. As for the adventure with Joseph, I still had my skills, so I could still help out with the fight. In fact, we ensured the Pillar Men didn't even get close to what they did in Baseline._

 _After that, I managed to live until around the time Dio would've returned in Baseline, which was over 50 years later. But since I'd defeated Dio and ensured he was toast, that didn't happen. I lived a long, interesting life._

 _Wonder what awaits me next._

* * *

11.7 – (FanOfMostEverything)

Ryuko usually Awoke at the foot of Honnou Town, guitar case in hand. Still, she wasn't unfamiliar with entering a Loop by actually waking up at her desk. Swapping with Mako was one of the Loop's more common Variants. Even Awake Mako was becoming a rather dab hand with a Scissor Blade.

Ryuko smiled. It was always nice to take a backseat to the insanity once in a while, even if she couldn't match Mako for insane monologues. Still, being a Makanshoku was almost like a vacation.

She froze. Her Loop Memories had objected to that last thought. She wasn't a Makanshoku. She was Kiryuin Ryuko, as she had been since birth! And that just raised all kinds of questions. This was nothing like the usual Loops where that was the case.

Further investigation was interrupted by Gamagoori breaking down the classroom door. Ryuko was expecting his sudden entrance, sure, but not the frilly apron over his uniform.

"Attention, students of second-year class 7!"

Ryuko tuned him out from there. Same story as usual; theft, punishment, tear gas, yadda yadda. However, she took advantage of the confusion to follow the disciplinary committee. Maybe she could get some further information.

She peeked out of the door just in time to hear Gamagoori's larger than life exclamation. "So, the One-Star Goku School Lunch you stole! Hmph. Go ahead. Eat up."

Ryuko had liked to think she was fairly inured to the madness the Loops could bring, that the insanity of her Baseline had inoculated her against anything infinity could throw at her. Only now did she realize how wrong she had been.

The unmistakable sound of a heel striking the school shook her out of her daze. Unlike Satsuki's usual light show, a single beam shone down from the heavens on the academy's tower. The air was filled with faint hosannahs. And Ryuko finally registered the Loop memory she'd been trying to ignore for the sake of her sanity.

"Fear is freedom! Subjugation is liberty! Contradiction is truth! These are the truths of this world!" proclaimed Student Council President Makanshoku Mako. "Bow before the futility of logic, you pigs with human taste buds!"

Ryuko had to admit, it _did_ sound like something that would come out of Mako's mouth.

* * *

11.8 – (Harosata)

[Assassination Classroom]

 _Koro-Sensei tried not at frown at Itona. Seeing a talented boy give in to the ferocity of the tentacles always ate away at him. He wanted to rip the tentacles off his student's head, but that would only hurt Itona as long as he sought power._

And sadly, power was a tool that Shiro favored as he knocked out Itona and hefted him over his shoulder. "Ah, it seems I will have to tutor him. Don't worry, we will be back to kill you."

Koro-Sensei grabbed Shiro' shoulder. "I can't just let you walk away with my stude-"

"Anti-Sensei Cloth." As Koro Sensei saw his hand melting, Shiro turned around. "You canno-GAH!"

Koro-Sensei withdrew his other hand. "I guess you don't have Anti-Sensei Glasses. Nyuk nyuk nyuk."

* * *

11.9 – (Awesomedude17)

[Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo/God of War]

Beauty Awoke, and found herself to be the only Looper here. The group was looking up at Bobobo's latest foe. She sighed slightly, wondering what this guy could be.

"Alright, strange mysterious foe that I might have met before, how about you show us who you are!" Bobobo demanded.

"As you wish!"

Bobobo gasped.

"What, who is it Bobobo?" Beauty asked with some worry.

"I cannot believe it! It's my friend's sister's uncle's brother's monkey's mother's owner's niece's wife's father's uncle's brother's former roommate's sister's friend's nephew's dog's father's drinking buddy's son's wife's brother-in-law's clone!"

"YES, BOBOBO-BO BO-BOBO! IT IS I! KRATOS! AND YOU WILL FALL TO THE MAGNIFICENCE OF MY ABS!" An Unawake Kratos said as he turned around to reveal the magnificent, oiled up, and well chiseled abs that he had.

"Dear God, those abs are so magnificent, I cannot look away!" Don Patch screamed.

"Neither can I!" Jelly Jiggler confirmed.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! YOUR ABS ARE TOO AMAZING!" Bobobo screamed, trying to look away, but unable.

Beauty's eye just twitched.

 _'I'll die next Loop by trying the Ryncol if I can.'_

-x-x-x-x-

"And that's what happened last time Kratos and I were in a Loop together." Beauty chugged her Ryncol, and then fell backwards.

"Barkeep, I'll have two Ryncols." Kratos said as the other Loopers were laughing their asses off at the ridiculous tale of Kratos' magnificent abs.

* * *

11.10 – (kingofsouls)

[Eyeshield 21/The Wonderful World of Gumball]

Sena's plans for derailing the Loop ended abruptly when he was suddenly slapped in the face. Shouting in pain, Sena beheld his attacker: An androgynous male wearing his school's uniform. "What was that for?"

The person spoke with a dual voice, like a boy and girl were speaking in unison. The tone was the most monotone one could be, impressive considering how two voices were speaking. "You are Sena Kobayakawa, are you not?"

"Yes, but that doesn't answer anything. Who are you?"

"We are the City Of Elmore." the person spoke. With a name like that, Sena quickly guessed that this...Elmore was Looping. "We wish to speak to you about Natsuhiko Taki. He is of your Loop, is that correct?"

"Yea, he's from my Loop, But.."

Another slap. "Stop that."

"We will not stop that. We have not gotten our anger towards Natsuhiko Taki out of our system, so to speak."

The Anchor groaned. By now, they were getting attention drawn towards themselves, prompting Sena and the City of Elmore to retreat into the clubhouse, which was thankfully empty.

Closing the door, Sena glared at the City of Elmore before continuing the conversation  
"Okay, so before anything else, no Taki is not Looping."

"We are thankful." The City of Elmore replied. "Moving on, we want you to know our thoughts and grievances against Natsuhiko Taki."

"Which are?"

"We think Natsuhiko Taki is an idiot."

Sena sighed. "Everyone thinks Taki is an idiot."

"Everyone?"

" _Everyone."_

"We are both pleased and confused at the same time, but we digress." The City of Elmore replied. "We observed him, as we do each Loop, and he confounded us with his antics."

"Complete idiocy unless it was something related to football?"

"Indeed. We could take no more of it, for we found it boring and uneventful. We erased him from the world, sending him to the void where all forgot his very existence."

This startled Sena. "Wait...you can do that?"

"We are the City of Elmore. An actual city Sena Kobayakawa." The City of Elmore replied. "As such we have control over much more than a mere living being. Though normally we do not find ourselves in the form of a living being, like the human form we are in now. We are not sure how we feel about it."

"So...after you put him in this...void thingy?"

"The void is where all of the mistakes of our Loop are sent. We deemed Natsuhiko Taki to be a mistake, and sent him into the void as fast as possible. It is disconnected from the world unless we will it, and thus nothing within it can leave it without outside interference." The City of Elmore then grit it's teeth. "Yet somehow he escaped. Five times we might add."

A perplexed Sena though on that. "That...honestly doesn't sound like Taki."

"We asked him how he escaped, and he replied with 'Anyone can do it with effort' and "I have a 100% success rate." alongside other simpleton drivel rather than actual reasons."

"Yea, that sounds like him."

'We must know his secret so that we may be better prepared next time we meet him" fumed the City of Elmore.

"Well, the best thing to is to not do anything." Sena replied.

This seemed to anger the City of Elmore. "That is not an answer we are pleased with."

"What I mean is that Taki is an idiot." Sena elaborated. "In Baseline Taki's idiocy is his strength. He's not the kind of guy who plans or anything complex like that. He moves forward, thinking he's the best and knowing he's not.  
He may not be the smartest, but he doesn't need to be. He just needs to be himself, and for me that's more than enough. Maybe that would be enough for you next time."

"We still do not..."

"Elmore, trust me. If he's in your Loop maybe you should just let him be. He might surprise you. I know I was when Taki really showed the team what he could do."

The City of Elmore contemplated that before relenting. "We shall try that."

"Thank you." At that, Sena decided to indulge his curiosity. "So...how did Taki escape this void?"

"Spinning."

Sena tilted his head on confusion. "Spinning?"

"Spinning and stretching his legs to his head. We must admit he is quite flexible."

Sena shrugged, accepting the answer as is. "...Okay then. Want a tour of my Loop?"

"We would like that."

* * *

11.11 - (Me)

[JoJo/Billy and Mandy]

DIO Awoke, as he most often did, halfway between the carriage that had brought him to the Joestar Manor and the ground. He considered it an excellent omen that the next second and a half did not include Jonathan's fist obliterating his skull. The first opponent whom he had ever respected, had eventually managed to detect DIO's Awakening based on the differences his movements before and after Waking Up had upon his Hamon. While before DIO had prevented his early death at the hands of his mortal foe with the usage of The World immediately upon Waking, he had recently had his most relied upon skill temporarily removed from his repertoire. As such he had rarely managed to set foot upon the Earth before meeting his end at Jonathan's hand during the last hundred or so Loops.

Eventually however, as he knew would be the case, the Anchor for the current Loops was not in fact Jonathan and therefore DIO finally had the opportunity to act. It was pure simplicity to act the role of the perfect genteel in front of Jonathan and his father. It was even simpler to stumble upon Jonathan during an unguarded moment and twist his neck a full 180 degrees. With the body stored in his Pocket to ensure that the next set of Anchors would still be born and allow him the opportunity to regain his Stand at a later point he set about consoling his 'father' as he helped in the search for his missing 'brother.'

Several years later, George Joestar came to a tragic end from an unknown illness.

From there it was a simple matter of wooing Erena and impregnating her with Jonathan's seed during their honeymoon. It also had the added amusement of defiling his greatest enemy's wife. His silver tongue ensured that she never knew his true identity for even a moment during their courtship, and thus when he 'died' saving her and the worthless child who would go on to mother the next generation of Joestars she did so believing him to have been Jonathan, thus ensuring that Joseph would be none the wiser to his current Awakened status.

This was the part that he usually failed somehow at moving beyond. Whoever the Anchor was this time however, seemed to be far enough removed from the events of the Loop that they failed to confront him. DIO smiled maliciously, at last he would have access to the one thing which he had consistently been prevented from attaining throughout his prolonged existence. First a trip to Rome, and then it was off to Tibet. His current weakness would soon prove to be only a minor setback, and within less than a fortnight he would be stronger than ever.

"I may have been defeated, but even in your moment of triumph the might of DIO is unstoppable. With the power of the Pillar Men and the Red Stone of Aja, I will be all the closer to my inevitable victory! Savor your success while it yet still lasts; in the end it is USELESS, USELESS, USELESS!" DIO shouted to the sky as he made landfall off the shores of the Americas.

In the quiet night air following his claims, a single voice responded. "Useless huh? So you're the big bad DIO everyone and their grandmother is so worried about. Pathetic."

DIO whirled around furiously, seeking the speaker. "Who dares?"

From the shadows a feminine figure made her way into the moon's light. Tall and shapely, she wore an elegant black dress which hugged her figure and seemed to merge with the shadows as it extended across the cobblestones. Her crimson eyes were shaded by her long blonde hair, held back by a black hairband. Even so, her cold dispassionate gaze examined DIO; as if looking at a particularly distasteful insect. On her right hand she wore a large golden gauntlet of some type, and sheathed at her back was a blade which gleamed in the light of the full moon.

"That depends. What are you going to do about it?" the woman asked dismissively.

DIO considered the situation. He was facing an unknown, most likely the Visiting Anchor or an affiliated Looper, mildly weakened from his recent voyage and more importantly lacking much of his gathered army following his not long removed fight against the Linphean Fairy Anchoring the Magix Branch. Force was not guaranteed to work, and considering his recent string of setbacks he was inclined to accept that perhaps he was not as prepared as he previously thought himself. So if power was not the best course for the situation...

He gave his most dashing smile, and bent his knee in a genteel fashion. "My most sincere apologies madam. I seem to have spoken crudely. Forgive me if I awakened you from your slumber at this untimely hour."

The woman gave him an evaluating look, and proceeded to ignore him as she pulled out a case of cigarettes.

DIO twitched mentally at the action, but held his tongue. He could decide how to kill her for the disrespect once he had a better understanding of the situation. He refused to be thwarted yet again. Not when so close to his current goal. It had been countless Loops since the last time he had had the opportunity to seek the Red Stone, he was not about to fail again over something so simple as a single rash action.

With a snap of her fingers, she conjured a brief flame and lit the item before breathing deeply. Crossing her arms, she turned her sight back towards DIO. "Well at least your manners aren't as lacking as your intellect. That was almost a passable lie."

DIO grit is teeth hard enough to fracture them, but said nothing; the calm look on his face giving no indication of his inner fury as he stood to face the woman.

Without turning away, she leaned back as if to sit. Before she had even half finished the motion a male figure wearing a helm and with a mace at his side appeared, placing a luxurious seat directly beneath her and kneeling at her side in a motion so flawless as to have appeared instinctual. The woman casually crossed her legs and continued to observe DIO without acknowledging her apparent servant's presence.

DIO found himself impressed despite himself. Whoever this person was, she clearly had some respectable level of control over her minions. Even his own zombies were not as faithful in their service without his direct control. He mentally reassessed the woman's threat level.

Finishing her cigarette she crushed the butt into an ashtray her servant produced without question, before steepling her fingers before her. "You and I have a problem Dio Brando."

DIO mentally began preparing himself to move. It would take him less than a second to bridge the distance between them and sink his fingers into her carotid. He remained perfectly still, a mildly curious expression crossing his face.

"It is inevitable that we stand against each other, as our plans are similar. However that is neither here nor there. You see Dio, you are a fool."

And that was the last straw. In the blink of an eye he had crossed the space separating her and him, kicked the servant to the side and plunged his hands into the woman's chest.

"You dare to call me, DIO, foolish? No, it is you who are the fool this day. I know not who you are, but your presumptuousness ends here. There's no point in struggling. With a single thought I can end your pathetic life as easily as swatting a fly. I will be the God of this, and every other world!" he gloated, tightening his grip on the stranger's heart to prove his own superiority.

Narrowing her eyes disdainfully, the woman proceeded to backhand DIO; the result of which was the vampire staggering back in surprise, her still beating heart held within his fist. Spitting to the side contemptuously DIO drained the remaining blood from the heart and turned away from the soon to be dead woman.

"It's jus' like I be telling ya Mandy, you be far too reckless fer yur own good," an accented voice spoke from behind him, and instinctively DIO jumped to the side as a blade tore a gash into the ground where he had been standing.

Turning incredulously, DIO witnessed a second figure rising from the woman's shadow. Turning with an almost fond expression on her face, the blonde smirked. "When the Grim Reaper is your husband, you can afford to be reckless."

"Aye, I suppose that be true; but that don' mean ya need to be throwing yurself into dangerous situations all willy nilly like," Reaching into his cloaked form he pulled out a large hourglass, and held his hand over the top of it. Slowly the sand within began to restore itself. "I only have so much of dis stuff when we ain't in Endsville."

"So put more of it in your Pocket next time. It isn't that difficult Grim." 'Mandy' replied in a long-suffering tone.

"Says th' girl who ain't gots ta deal with de Underworld Police." 'Grim' grumbled.

"Just do it bonehead." Unmindful of the gaping wound in her chest — which even as he watched was drawing closed, the edges an indistinct blur as they reached out and reconnected with the whole; leaving pale unblemished skin in its wake — she turned her gaze back to DIO.

"As I was saying, you are an idiot. A child attempting to play a game whose rules you don't understand. Although perhaps that isn't entirely your own fault, the other players have made a concerted effort to keep you in the dark after all. I admit that your idiocy was amusing at first, but as time has gone by I find myself considerably less entertained. You are a fool, and your continued ignorance poses a problem. So let's fix that shall we?" Reaching into what DIO assumed was her Pocket, she pulled out a book and threw it at his feet.

"Consider this a gift. The section on Ascension you should find especially informative. You and I have the same end game, and your ridiculous efforts to change the playing field are a threat to both of our plans. While it is inevitable that one of us two fall at the other's hands, it isn't time yet for our final confrontation."

Abruptly DIO found his personal space having been violated by the blazing eyed woman, as black and green tentacles erupted from her body and held him in place as she moved to stand face to face with him. _"But make no mistake; if your actions prevent me from seeing my children again I will personally claw your screaming soul from your body, rip it into its constituent pieces, bind each individual speck to an indestructible Horcrux and shove each one into the heart of a sun where you will burn for the rest of eternity."  
_  
DIO grinned viciously. "When I, DIO, have conquered all of existence I will make you beg for my forgiveness. If you're lucky I will allow you to warm my bed once I've broken that spirit of yours," The tentacles holding him froze as he cooled his body temperature by evaporating all the moisture in his skin. "Space Ripper Stingy Eyes!"

Mandy pulled back with a snort, the twin holes in her forehead sealing with a hiss of black steam. "Perhaps this game will be interesting after all. By the way, have you met my husband?"

DIO went furiously still as a razor's edge pressed softly into the skin of his neck. Turning to see the wielder, he was met with the visage of a human skeleton; hellfire blazing in its eyes as he grinned a macabre grin at him. "I don' believe we've had the pleasure mon. Name's Grim, as in de Grim Reaper. I suggest you tink again before propositioning me woman."

With that he pulled back with his scythe, separating DIO's head from his shoulders.

"Bother mon, don' go losin yur head now," Grim quipped as DIO's veins extended from his neck, raising him into the air.

"YOU! You'll pay for this!" DIO roared, only to be knocked aside by an impact against his temple.

"Consider us even. C'mon Grim, we're going to Egypt. I feel like taking up archeology," she said as she literally melted into the shadows.

"Mistress, wait for me!" the servant DIO had taken down shouted as he ran towards the departing woman and her skeleton partner.

DIO noticed none of this, too busy staring at the object which had been thrown at him. Less than a foot from his position the Red Stone of Aja glimmered in the moonlight.

Even as his body picked up his head and reattached it to his shoulders, his gaze remained fixated on the large jewel which he had been prevented from obtaining for untold millennia. Grinding his teeth, he reached down and picked it from the street; holding it gently between his thumb and forefinger.

On the one hand he now had a permanent solution to any possible sun related issues should he by some chance lose his current immunity — and he was no longer taking chances with such things. He had already gained and lost so many other abilities over his existence, up to and including his own Stand, that the possibility was nowhere near as remote as he considered acceptable — the ability to utilize Hamon as freely as his own foes, and absolute control of his physical form; awaiting only the sunrise to claim as his own. (He had long since Pocketed the Pillar Men's mask for his own usage upon obtaining the stone.) Turning his gaze away from the flawless gem, he picked up the small book. He had also gained all the information he could have ever wanted, literally handed to him upon the proverbial silver platter.

The problem here was that his current windfall came at the cost of every remaining scrap of his pride. He had been mocked, defeated, ignored, dismissed, and worst of all _pitied_. He was _indebted_ to the infuriating woman. Whether he was stronger now was irrelevant, because it had been gained at the cost of his own superiority and his utter humiliation!

His Stand had been sealed, his dignity stepped on, his worth condemned by the woman who had empowered him and his victory turned to ash within his mouth. Damn her, damn her, damn her, damn her, damn her.

"DAMN HER! How dare she! How dare she claim to be better than I?! I who will crush the worlds beneath my heel and reshape existence in my own image!" Turning he ripped the ship behind him from its moorings and threw it into the center of the village who's outskirts he stood upon. "DAMN HER!"

-x-x-x-x-

Much later, after having worked through his anger by decimating the village of its inhabitants and setting himself up as a god in all but name, he read through the book he had been given. That damnable woman's words had been as true as she claimed. Even had he Ascended he would have been reduced to less than the youngest in terms of power; Him, DIO, of less power than a mangy flea-bitten _cat_! It was intolerable!

No, as much as he hated to admit it, Ascension was out of the question for the time being.

Which left him in need of a new plan. His previous goal had been simply to find a method of achieving Godhood — a futile task he now understood, a Looper as old as himself could simply will themselves to Ascend; expend their power until the trappings of mortality slid off of them as easily as a serpent breaking free of its shell — but that route was closed to him now. What he needed was power. Power and forces to aid him when the time came to wage his war against the Gods of Yggdrasil.

And against the _bitch_ who sought the same prize as he himself.

He had ignorantly assumed that his own 'Baseline' abilities and a few intriguing extras found along his journey would be sufficient for his needs. But clearly that was not the case. An entire section of the manual had been dedicated to him alone. And while in other circumstances he would find it amusing that such effort had been expended towards warning the weak and feeble against him, on this occasion he found it only further infuriating. His abilities had been broken down in explicit detail, as well as possible counters and workarounds in case of encountering himself. There were even listings of his known weaknesses at the time of printing.

The World had been stolen from him. Clearly he needed to branch out. And he knew exactly what he should learn first. Thanks to his new Ultimate Form, he now had access to Hamon. It was time to give Jonathan a taste of his own medicine. From there he would begin seeking out additional skills to add to his armory, and powerful enemies to swell his ranks. His methods would need to change, and his end goal would be postponed, but his destination was unchanged. He would lead an army of Zombies such as even the Gods of Yggdrasil could not withstand, and then when the time came he would crush the blonde whore and her skeletal lover and lay claim to his ordained place as lord of all creation.

Such was his destiny, and his rightful fate. And none would stand in his way.

-x-x-x-x-

"ARE YOU INSANE?! What in the Ninefold Realms of the World Tree were you thinking? Do you know what you've done by giving DIO the Manual!"

Mandy glanced up from her game of Chaos against Eris at the fuming Norn. "Urd was it? I have my reasons. It has been how many Loops now since I informed DIO of the truth which you all decided to keep from him? Five hundred, a thousand? In that time has he attempted to Ascend now that he knows it is possible?"

The half demon goddess frowned. "Well, no. Not exactly," she admitted.

Mandy nodded and turned back to her cards. She already had a chest full of multiple Golden Apples of Chaos, but one more couldn't be anything other than useful. "DIO now knows that Ascension will be the end of him; whether because he destroys all of existence and himself along with it, or because if he succeeds your groups will make him _wish_ for a fate as kind as Prometheus' punishment. He will be an MLE regardless of what you or I or anyone else does, but at the least he won't destroy everything in a misinformed quest for godhood. He will bide his time, amass his forces and grow his own power; and then when the Loops end,"

She placed a snow-globe atop the table and smacked it with a stale loaf of French bread, shattering it into three equal pieces. Eris screamed in frustration, throwing her Apple at the evil child who had won their game before stalking off in a huff. Turning back to Urd, Mandy smiled an evil grin which caused even the daughter of Hild to shudder. "When the Loops end, I will personally end his life and feed his soul to my pets piece by screaming piece."

Urd flinched away from the horrible creature wearing a child's face. The sooner she became her mother's problem the better. "Whatever kid. If this goes horribly wrong, which it will, just be aware that you will be held personally responsible for it."

Mandy smirked, the shadows around her seeming to eat away at the bright sunlight streaming into her room. "I'm counting on it."

With a shake of her head, and a mental note to pay a visit to Mac for a good strong drink, Urd sighed and terminated her Avatar; returning to her office with a frown. "There's something _wrong_ about that kid. Then again, I suppose there'd have to be for anyone to put up with Billy on a full time basis."

First thing first she would be typing up a full report of the entire incident. After that she didn't want to see the broad side of sobriety for the next hundred Loops. At least. Pulling up a new file she got to work. The sooner she started, the sooner she could get her sweet, sweet sake.

* * *

11.12 – [TangleKat]

Luffy sat on the deck of the _Going Merry_ staring at the bright stars that canvased the sky above. They had just picked up Usopp in Syrup Village, and if he was Awake at the moment, he wasn't showing it. In fact, Usopp had been pretty quiet of late – strange, since the Sniper was usually running his mouth off with some lie or another at this point. Of course, that most likely guaranteed that he was Looping, but it wasn't as if Luffy was about to use Haki to find out for sure.

As if to punctuate his thoughts, Usopp poked his head out from the cabin and lowered himself to the deck beside Luffy. The long-nosed Looper took a deep breath, staring at his hands and clenching them over and over again, as if hoping to see something that he'd perhaps missed. After a moment he turned to his captain and Anchor with a distant look in his eyes.

"Luffy... do you remember our first fight in Water Seven? Back in Baseline, I mean?"

Luffy lowered the brim of his hat onto his face, covering the stars and giving him a moment to think. The memories of what had happened were all too fresh, and the constant Baseline Loops that he'd had to go through had soured the experience further. "Yeah. That was a shit time for both of us, huh?"

Usopp grimaced, still staring at his hands. "It's just... I've been thinking about Dresserosa. About what happened there, and about what Law told us. You know, about D."

Curiosity piqued, Luffy shifted his hat and sat up. "Yeah, I remember. He said that "D. is God's natural enemy. Those with D. will surely bring about a storm" and other stuff like that. Why? What does that have to do with our fight in Water Seven?"

Usopp turned to Luffy, his eyes shining darkly with unshed tears and the wear of ages set deep into his face. "What are my epithets, Luffy? What is it that the people call me in Baseline?"

Luffy scratched his head. "They call you Sniper King, of course. Why? Did something go and change it recently?"

The long-nosed Looper let his body deflate, and he pulled his knees close to his chest. His voice grew small and distant. "They called me "God", Luffy." As Luffy's eyes widened in understanding, Usopp screwed his own shut. "They called me God, and I fought with you. Even before I got the title, D. and God still clashed. What if it happens again? I already cast away our friendship in Baseline – what if our fight is doomed to repeat now that we're Looping? I – I don't think I could take it, Luffy. I don't ever want that to happen again."

Luffy thumped Usopp firmly on the back, startling the Sniper. "It's okay. If we fight, then we fight. We've gotten through tough spots in our friendship before, and we'll do so again. I won't say I'd like fighting you – at least, from an emotional perspective. I'd be thrilled to fight you just for the fun of it. But I get it, I really do. And you know, I think that it was that fight that ultimately led you to become "God" Usopp. I've gone through it a lot of times when I can't change it, but the non-Looping you always pulls through and becomes stronger for it. All we can do is look to the future. After all, we won't know what happens until it happens. And really, that's the best part about Looping! Shishishishi!"

As Luffy's face spread into that familiar wide, grin, Usopp felt his spirits lift a little. "Yeah, it really is, isn't it?"

* * *

11.1 – Omnipotence ain't all it's cracked up to be.  
11.2 – Even retroactive memory wipes aren't enough to counter the Stupidity-Given-Flesh that is Billy.  
11.3 – One big, happy, blood-drinking family.  
11.4 – Miho can be rather scarily competent given proper motivation.  
11.5 – Team Gurren just so happens to include their Admin as an honorary member. He certainly fits the standard profile after all.  
11.6 – She's been everywhere, and seen some things let me tell you. Or, actually, let her tell you. Same difference.  
11.7 – All hail Lady Mako, first of her line. Bow before her appreciation of all things culinary and weep.  
11.8 – He's a real wise guy.  
11.9 – Bobobo knows well the truth of the spartan's manly physique.  
11.10 – This concept of 'Taki' confuses and infuriates us.  
11.11 – Thus did Mandy swing a fierce and mighty Clue-by-four, and struck down the fell beast DIO with knowledge most confounding.  
11.12 – Even Luffy can get introspective every once in a while. Infinite time loops can bring out both the best and worst in people.


	12. Chapter 12

12.1 – (Leviticus Wilkes)

[Evangelion/Attack on Titan]

"Ikari? Ikari? Wake up."

"Who is that"

"It's me."

"Class rep? Why..."

"Where's Arlert? Where has he gone to Ikari? I made this for him with all my heart. It's just a lunch... but... I can't find him. Ikari... please... being him back."

"No! I didn't do it! I didn't kill Armin!"

"Kill? Is... is Arlert dead?"

"IT WASN'T ME! I TOLD HIM TO STOP! BUT FATHER... GENDO KILLED ARMIN!"

Karula Ikari (typically Carla Yeager) opened her eyes and escaped her nightmare. Or... did she wake up in this... this nightmare Loop? "That ceiling... it's familiar."

"I imagine it is," said a rugged, calm voice. Ryoji Kaji, Kaji to his friends, was in the room. "I guess you've 'regained consciousness'. You sure you don't want to be unconscious a little longer?"

Karula sat up, feeling her entire body groan under the mental stress she had been under. 'Armin... Oh Armin...' Karula's eyes widened as she remembered her dream, and how her class representative, Mikasa, had arrived.. "Mikasa... oh god she'll... she'll be..."

Kaji sighed quietly, but in the painfully silent room, he may as well have fired a gun. "I guess this is something that shouldn't be avoided. Your father wants to see you."

Karula snapped out of her stupor over having to tell her Unawake daughter that Armin had died. "He... he wants to see me?"

Kaji nodded solemnly. "He wants to see you. He said that you need to see him, even if you need to crawl." Kaji looked dead to Karula. "That's how he put it."

Karula steeled herself and sat up. "He wants to see me. Then I'll go. I want to see him to."

The walk through NERV's headquarters was a blur to Karula. Her memories kept intruding on her walk. Nerdish, playful Eren walking around in Kensuke Aida's shoes. Mikasa managing the class with Hikari Horaki's stern fist. Timid Armin Suzuhara, joining the Eva program to save his little comatose sister, Christa, just like Toji had before him.

The memory of her hands closing... of her hands crushing Armin... killing Armin...

Karula was standing in the dark room that was Gendo's office. In front of her, the man that laid claim to the title of 'her father' sat, hands clasped. Behind her, neither supporting nor oppressing her, Kaji stood, silent.

"You look better than I expected," Gendo said emptily. "Now then... Destruction of NERV property. Willful possession of Eva for personal usage. Disobedience of lawful orders. All of which are criminal acts." Gendo looked Karula dead in the eyes. "What do you have to say for yourself."

Karula inhaled, and exhaled slowly. She could hear the blood in her ears rushing, her heart pounding. The urge to scowl, to scream, to lash out, threatened, something to fight against Gendo. Instead, she said nothing.

Gendo adjusted his glasses. "If you have nothing to say for committing these crimes, then you are to be punished accordingly. You are to spend a month in solitary confinement for your actions." Gendo's stare was void, lacking emotion, depth, humanity. "Go, and think upon your actions."

Karula twitched. "My actions."

Kaji read her tone instantly. Gendo didn't even hear her tone, and remained silent in incomprehension.

"Possession of Eva for personal use. Destruction of property. Murder." Karula sneered. "Those are _your_ crimes Gendo. And your sentence..."

Karula didn't move her feet. She didn't lunge, didn't jump, didn't rush. Instead, her feet remained perfectly planted. Her arms though...

Gendo couldn't explain the surge of water that lifted him up and engulfed his head. Karula was staring at him with fury etched in her face, not that he could see it. "You killed Armin. His blood is on your hands! And your blood is on mine."

Karula threw Gendo out the window, liquified, and left the building. Kaji, standing in the room, was unable to move. Seeing your boss killed by their daughter with her having drowned him on dry land would do that to you.

-x-x-x-x-

Shinji Horaki, Hikari's brother this Loop, was a very smart person. You tended to end up a smart person when you were billions of years old. His smarts were what led him to a small alcove between two buildings, a gap occupied by bushes and grass and vine plants. It was a small garden, tucked away within the city of Neo Tokyo Three.

Shinji knew it well. It was a place he had gone to many times to brood. It was prime brooding territory. Some of the best, honestly. It was where he found Karula Yeager, sitting still on a bench. She was utterly still, save a single motion: the trailing tears on her face. Shinji sat down next to her and gently wrapped her hand in his.

The silence crept on, Karula sniffling and Shinji gently patting her shoulder. Finally, Karula's crying eased. "Do you want to talk about it?" Shinji asked politely.

"I... I killed him." Karula tucked her legs against her chest, trying to curl up into herself. "I killed him."

"Gendo? No, don't answer that." Shinji pressed a little closer to Karula. "I know that it's hard. It's hard to take a life."

"No... it's easy," Karula gently asserted. "I've killed before. I've killed good men before. I... didn't know who I was. I wasn't asking who I was. I didn't care. I was Sloth. I killed because I was told to. This isn't the first time." Karula's tears flowed anew.

"You knew him," Shinji intuited. "You knew who Gendo was. But... you regret killing him?" Now he looked a little lost. "What, didn't you want to kill him?"

Karula choked on her words. Comprehension dawned on Shinji. "You knew him after he started Looping. And when you met him here, he wasn't-"

"He wasn't Gendo. That monster isn't the person I know." Karula dragged another gasp of air into her lungs. "I was the only person who knew him, and didn't judge him."

Shinji sighed. "Not everyone hates Gendo. They, and you, are exceptions to the rule though. Nanoha, Naoki, millions despise him. He's a new Looper, compared to the multiverse. We're billions of years old. He's nary a handful of millennia old. As old as you, if I'm correct."

Karula didn't answer Shinji. "Karula, you know that you were one of a select group who had never seen Gendo when he was himself. You had the fortune to know another him. The Gendo you know is in pain. He's struggling to fit into the Loops when everyone is trying to kick him out." Shinji squeezed his fist, an old nervous habit. "When my father is Awake, he wants to be accepted. He wants to atone. He just wants to be... left alone."

"When he's Asleep, Gendo is... lost. He's flailing, bumbling through life, grasping at the final straws he thinks will return Yui to him. My father wants to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Yui will return to him. It's driven him mad."

Shinji sighed and looked up at the hot, painfully clear blue sky. "Awake, Gendo simply wants to grieve in peace. Asleep, he wants to reunite with Yui. This doesn't excuse his actions though. He isn't the first person to have lost a loved one. He should have moved on. He just... Gendo, when he's like this, deserves his punishment. He and Seele damned the human race. Looping though, he just wants to find peace."

The silence established itself, and began to stretch on. Shinji and Karula sat in silence, thoughts and emotions and fleeting glimpses of understanding whirling in a tumult in their heads. The wind whistled through the vines, and clouds had gathered when Karula spoke again. "In my home Loop, my husband loses me. Grisha is distraught... so sad. And yet... He doesn't find Eren or Mikasa. Instead, he waits a week and goes to the Reiss chapel. He kills them all. He takes the Coordinate. And he gives it to Eren."

"My husband has kept so much from me. So many painful secrets. And when I died, he couldn't take it. But where Gendo broke and plotted to take Yui back, Grisha gave Eren the Coordinate. He hid the Coordinate within Eren. He died to ensure the safety of mankind."

Karula stared at her hands. "I guess... Grisha used his final hours well. Gendo didn't. But at the same time, there are so many, so many reasons that are left unanswered. I can't... I can't begin to fathom how he knew about the Coordinate, how he became a Titan Shifter, why he acted when he did. I don't even know if what he did was right. At least with Gendo, I knew."

Karula sat there in silence, before tears welled up and began to seep from her eyes into her hands. "I'm a terrible person."

Shinji squeezed her hand. "No, you're not. You're better than you think you are. You, like everyone else-"

"No, it's that I've killed Armin, your sister's sweetheart, and I'm... I'm torn up about killing, killing a monster." Karula looked to be on the edge of a full psychological breakdown leaning hard over her hands. "I'm a horrible, shitty person and a horrible, shitty mother."

Shinji gently pushed Karula up to a sitting position. "Carla, I need you to look at me. Just look at me."

Karula turned to face Shinji. Shinji's blue eyes were as hard as steel. "Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone wishes they could go back and repair the damage. But no one, not even I, can do that. Karula, in the Loops, people are going to die. It's not a question of if, it's a question of when. When their time comes, you must promise me something."

"You must be prepared to let them rest in peace. Fight for their life, fight to save them, and never stop fighting to protect what you love the most. But when their time comes, and you see what has happened, you must always remember that no matter what, what you did was your best. You made mistakes, but blame does not fall to you. Merely a responsibility to save what you once failed to save."

Shinji gently pulled Karula into a hug. "I'm sorry that Armin is dead. I'm sorry that Gendo is dead. You just always remember this. Keep moving forward. One day, you'll see how your journey affected you, and you will love it."

Karula hiccuped. "But... Armin... Mikasa..."

"I know. I've lost people dear to me as well Carla. What sustained me was a drive to see what would come of my choices and a hope that the next day would always be better than the last. Feeling pain, even guilt, is natural. Just remember. The past is gone, and all you can do is learn from it to change the future." Shinji stood up, his hand still in Karula's.

Karula gently stood up, unfolding in stiff sections like a fancy ruler stick. "Shinji, do you-"

"Yes, I do." Shinji's smile assumed a different, ever so lightly pained, appearance. "You'll get better. And everything will be alright. I did, after all."

* * *

12.2 – (Tabac Iberez)

Sitting in Saori's apartment, Hana, Yuukari, Mako, and Saori were huddled around cups of oolong tea, under blankets. For some weird reason, time was repeating itself for them! By Mako's count, it had been four times so far, and each one was different. There had been the time they hadn't repeated, the first time, then they'd won the cup. Then another normal one, and another normal one where Miho all assigned them their tanks and they ended up driving the Pz 38 (t), then the really weird one with spaceship things, then a normal one except that Rabbit team all had followed Yuukari like ducklings, and then one that had, well, gone kablooy because Miho vanished, and then this one.

"Do we bring Miho in on this?" Saori asked, sipping her tea. Miho vanishing had forced her to be their tank commander, and that plus Momo's inability to plan anything other than "UTE! UTE! UTE!" had hurt them badly.

Mako nodded, and Hana looked a little withdrawn. "Ok..." the flower arranger said, shrugging. "I mean, so far we haven't actually seen her be aware of the time-loopy thingy like we are. What happens if she forgets all this when time does the reset thingy?"

Yuukari snorted into her tea, bravado pushing her on. "Nishuzimi-domo would never forget something that important!"

Mako just ignored her and poured herself another cup of the oolong. Mako was being very quiet, because for some reason Miho had decided the appropriate way to wake her up was rigging a blank 20cm shell to her alarm clocks, and then setting said alarm clock to 5:30. AM. 5:30 in the blasted morning! The sun wasn't even out yet! And where did Miho even get a blank unitary 20cm shell, anyway!? The 20cm guns were bag guns! Mako even had Yuukari check, to make sure!

"So it's decided, then? We'll talk to Miho tomorrow, during practice?"

The rest nodded.

-x-x-x-x-

Sitting down in the commander's seat, Miho sighed. Aside from the occasional Fused Loop, she didn't have many people to talk to. As she considered this, the autopilot she had developed for coaching and directing her team kicked in overtime, and started the practice.

Down below, the four newest Loopers looked at each other, and heard the sigh faintly through the rumble of the tank. Their Pz IV had been a loyal companion, and they all loved it like a friend. Coincidentally, like a good friend, it could be tuned out when they needed to talk.

"During lunch?" Mako asked, calmly. Three sets of double-clicks on their mikes confirmed it.

-x-x-x-x-

As the quintet of tankers pulled out the small rice cooker they had learned how to wire in back when they had been in the spaceship-things time loop, Saori broached the question to Miho.

"Miho, what would you do if I told you that time occasionally, well, looped in on itself, and we remembered every time it happened?"

Miho dropped her chopsticks and rice bowl.

"Nishuzimi-domo?" Yuukari asked, cautiously. "Does this happen to you too?"

Miho nodded, and sniffed. Grabbing her teamcast mike, she radioed all the tanks. "All tanks, say again all tanks, afternoon maneuver practice canceled. Do gunnery drills or something. Miho out"

Mako just looked at Miho, and put her hand on Miho's shoulder. Miho's reaction was to dive foreword, enveloping her entire team in a huge hug. When they got the group hug sorted out around Miho, Miho just made a happy little sound like a bell.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you guys, do you?" she asked, quietly.

"No," Hana said, "But you were lonely before, weren't you."

"For every one Loop that an average Looper endures," Miho said by rote, "An Anchor, who would be me, experiences between five and ten, and has experienced several hundred in addition to that. This would have been my hundred and first."

The group hug just got even closer. They had been a team, before. Now they were family.

-x-x-x-x-

This abruptly ended when Miho saw Erwin of all people on top of Rabbit-san, sword in one hand, C96 Mauser in the other, yelling at the crew mercilessly in heavily-accented German, telling them to drive her closer so she could hit them with her sword.

Anglerfish just looked at Miho while she laughed and laughed.

* * *

12.3 – (Dalxein)

[Gurren Lagann/MLP]

"Kinda' hungry..." Simon the Digger muttered.

"Oh?" Kamina wondered, pausing the video game the two were playing.

"Yeah. Maybe a sandwich? I dunno." the younger grunted noncommittally.

Kamina grinned. Simon shrugged.

The elder immediately leapt to his feet, the younger at his heels. Grabbing up his sword, he struck out with it when they left the building. The poor cow didn't know what hit it, as its meat was splattered onto their mech. The two jumped into the cockpit, flying it up into the sky and searing the meat with atmospheric friction as they broke into orbit. There they found their target.

"Gettai! _ARC-GURREN LAGANN!_ " They shouted as they combined with the spaceship, launching themselves at the moon, which was- oddly enough- actually made of cheese this Loop. With a mighty punch they broke off a massive chunk of lunar cheese and proceeded back to earth, disconnecting from the space cruiser as they went. They landed in a wheat field, coming down like a meteor and vaporizing the plants, somehow leaving only the seeds behind, which their mecha swooped out and grabbed many thousands of in one handful.

The lot of it was mercilessly crushed before being dunked in a nearby lake, and raised up above their heads. "This hand of mine is _burning red!_ " Kamina yelled. Man he loved that Fused Loop... "Its proud roar demands _sustenance!_ Shining _Burning_ **Finger!** "

After the wheatmeal was crushed with the burning fury of a thousand suns, the hand opened and into it was sprinkled bits of moon-cheese and the meat from their original ascent.

-x-x-x-x-

Sandwiches made, Kamina glanced over to the woman they'd inadvertently dragged along through all of that. "You want one? It's pastrami on flatbread."

The young woman, one Cheery Lee Littner, glanced down at the oddly well-made foodstuff before shaking her head and muttering to herself. "Please, multiverse, can't you send me somewhere that at least _pretends_ to make sense!?"

The man shrugged. "More for us, then."

12.4 - (Kris Overstreet)

[Haruhi Suzymiya/Adminspace]

"Are you trying on purpose to get yourself kicked out of Heaven," Skuld asked in exasperation, "again?"

Susanoo sat at his console, turned in his chair to face a trio of very unhappy gods. Skuld, of course, was Yggdrasil's chief debugger and, therefore, one of the leaders of the repair attempts that included the Infinite Loops. Next to her stood Tyr One-Hand, Yggdrasil's chief admin. And next to him stood Susanoo's sister, the usually silent Amaterasu, glowing eyes staring at him with deep disappointment.

When his bosses brought Amaterasu in for one of their little discussions, Susanoo knew it was serious.

"Look, honest," he said, glancing at the three of them, "this time it really, honestly, is NOT my FAULT!"

"We agreed that your little project would remain read-only indefinitely," Skuld pressed. "Let me go over the reasons.

"First, you created an embryonic god. Her Baseline is that she rewrites her local multiverse on a subconscious level. She is on the absolute cusp of Ascension... if she hasn't done so already." Skuld looked around. "You haven't had any unscheduled visitors lately, have you?"

"Look," Susanoo said, "Suzumiya is in control of her abilities on a subconscious level. She does nothing which would actively jeopardize her reality. Rewrite, yes; destroy, no. In fact she activated a subset of herself to arrange for a divergent timeline in order to preserve her Baseline world from collapse."

"Yes," Skuld nodded. "Listed here under 'multiple divergent and convergent timelines.' Moving on. Second: significant use of, and reliance upon, time travel for the continuation of the Baseline world."

"Predestination paradox protection," Susanoo countered. "With the exception of the presence of two time travelers, all time travel is done solely because it had already been done. Ouroboros patch, job's a good'un."

"Third," Skuld persisted, "multiple lesser reality-altering beings."

"The data entities are emergent and generally static. They're generally incapable of comprehending the higher levels. They're safe."

"Fourth. Extended time loop running in Baseline universe."

"That's a bum rap and you know it. It's impossible to terminate a major Loop while within a local Loop. Nesting doll protection law."

"And finally, the aforementioned divergent and convergent timelines. Granted that all of these factors are category 2 or lower, the fact that they're all in the same universe- AND the fact that that universe, being one of your personal hobby pieces of chaos and disruption, has no resources required for current repairs on Yggdrasil, makes the whole universe a prime read-only candidate." Skuld waved her clipboard at the storm god. "We discussed this. You agreed. You signed the forms yourself. In triplicate. No carbons. And yet," she pointed to his console, "the Suzumiya universe is reading as an active Loop!"

"And what I'm trying to tell you is," Susanoo said, "I didn't activate it. It activated ITSELF."

That shut Skuld up.

Amaterasu gently pushed Susanoo away from his console and keyed up the relevant readout.

UNIVERSE: SN-NT-2002-PRIME  
STATUS: LOOP PROTOCOL ACTIVE (variable 2 or 6 years duration w/Ouroboros Loop enclosed)  
LOOP CONDITION: STABLE

And then the font changed to rainbow colors for the next readout:

ADMIN: YASUMI WATAHASHI (SUSANOO, SUPERVISOR)  
ANCHOR: KYON  
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: HARUHI SUZUMIYA

Amaterasu pointed at the readout, then walked away, rubbing her temples.

The other three gods groaned.

"Looks like Epona's going to get a promotion," Skuld said. "You're going to have to give up admin duties on the Zelda Loops. From now on your full time job is making sure that this," she jabbed a finger at the screen, "doesn't break anything else."

Susanoo shrugged. A chaos god knows to be philosophical when his own chaos bites him in the butt.

* * *

12.5 - (Harry Leferts)

[Hellsing/Land Before Time]

From where he stood, hidden in the shadow of a large crack, Alucard watched the scene unfold in front of him. Some might have been surprised at how he decided to simply enjoy himself and stick to the shadows, but others would have just rolled their eyes. However, Alucard always did admit that he was somewhat interested in this Loop. After all, the Land Before Time Loopers were an interesting conundrum. Some Loopers, such as those from Jurassic Park, gave them respect. However a large number of others, on the other hand, treated them like children. After all, that's what they were and how bad was their Loop if they could handle it without special powers?

Snorting, Alucard shook his head in more than some amusement. ' _Fools.'_

Alucard had managed to Loop in before "The Great Earthshake" and had to whistle at the devastation that literally tore a continent in half. Though it was more the fight between an Unawake Helen and the Sharptooth which had caught his attention. It wasn't every day that he saw a 10 ton, non-supernaturally powered predator jump nearly forty feet, and twenty feet into the air. The fact that Helen's back didn't snap from the strain of the Sharptooth landing on it caused him to raise an eyebrow.

Once Helen had knocked the Sharptooth into the chasm opened by the earthquake, Alucard had shrugged it off. He did leave when Littlefoot came across his dying mother so they could have a quiet moment. After which, the old vampire once more began to follow Littlefoot as he began his journey toward the Great Valley. And when the Sharptooth had shown up, despite all it had been through, he had grinned. Seeing the group of children outsmart and outrun it again and again caused him to laugh. The fact that it managed to survive so much including a small volcanic eruption hitting it in the face made him even gleeful at what was coming and now, at the end of their journey, Alucard watched in rapt attention at the final confrontation. Even better, it seemed that none of them were Awake yet. "Let's see if you can defeat a monster, even though none of you are men."

It was then that he realized Littlefoot's plan and his grin widened a touch more. "Clever..."

When the group managed to knock the boulder, with the Sharptooth on top of it, off the cliff and into the water, he gave a soft clap. "Very nice." He waited until they were gone before finally stepping out of his hiding spot as he looked down into the deep, water filled sinkhole where the body of the now dead Sharptooth lay. Chuckling, he shook his head as he looked in the direction of where the group of young dinosaurs had gone. "This should prove to be an... _informative_ Loop..."

None of the other Loopers Awoke until much later on which allowed Alucard to observe how they acted without foreknowledge of what would happen. And even after they Woke up, he didn't see a single one use any non-Baseline powers, which caused him to laugh. Littlefoot never did understand why much later on, in another Loop, Alucard tipped his hat to him. Or why the vampire did the same with his friends…

* * *

12.6 - (Solaris Requiem)

[Undertale/Assassination Classroom]

Toriel exhaled as put down her red pen, rubbing her fatigued eyes as she finished grading some of the last tests that her students turned in before winter vacation. She looked outside towards the snow-covered campus of the school she usually found herself teaching at with a soft smile. For some reason it had been much easier to grab the required funding needed to build and run the school compared to previous times; something that she was genuinely grateful of. Unfortunately there were still some... problems with the local neighborhood that she never did manage to get over. Finding teachers that would willingly teach monster and human students alike had been somewhat challenging, sometimes their parents outright refused to let their children near the 'freaks' and the 'animals'.

It seemed that prejudice and suspicion still ran rampantly around her despite her best efforts. But she held hope in her heart that someday that might change; the Loop that she found herself in lasted around 20 years or so after the barrier was broken.

There were three precise knocks on her office door that brought Toriel out of her musings, "Come in!" she answered.

Toriel recognized the visitor instantly by his short blue hair and patient smile, after all it was one the most talented teachers in the school. "Nagisa, it's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Toriel" Nagisa replied back, "Did you finish grading everything?"

"Yes, it was a challenge but it's all finished."

Nagisa sighed, "I'm about half-way through with mine... But I should be finished with them by the time we have to submit the grades for processing."

"Sounds like you're having a _grade_ time," Toriel chuckled. Nagisa gave a small laugh before before calming himself down.

"There's going to be a faculty meeting in a few minutes, are you going to head down there soon?" Nagisa asked, causing Toriel's eyes to widen.

"Oh my. I forgot about that completely. Thank you very much for reminding me," Toriel got out of her seat and filed away the tests neatly for later retrieval. "Shall we get going?"

Nagisa nodded kindly before they both exited the small but homey office and departed. As their footsteps echoed throughout the relatively empty halls Toriel glanced towards Nagisa's confident stride.

"Why did you become a teacher?" she asked him. Nagisa contemplated her words for a second before he smiled.

"One of the people that I looked up to most in life was a teacher. He did so many things for me during that time that I couldn't really see myself doing anything else."

"Oh? He sounds like a wonderful person."

Nagisa chuckled, "He was a bit weird sometimes, but he always had a good heart. He was the kind of teacher that I wanted to be."

"What about before you met him? What did you want to do then?"

The moment Toriel asked those words, Nagisa's expression shifted slightly but the change was gone in an instant.

"There was... another option that I was considering. I don't like to talk about it though, suffice to say that I don't have any regrets choosing this path."

Toriel considered Nagisa's words before choosing not to pry on the subject. After all, she had her secrets as well; but on the other hand a little joking around couldn't hurt.

"I see..." she replied before grinning impishly. "Did you want to be one of those... Power Ranger people that I've heard about?"

Nagisa shook his head, amused by Toriel's guess. "Not even close to it. I did want to help people as a teacher though, so I guess it does count?"

"I guess it's close enough..." Toriel drawled as the two of them walked further down the hall. She did not notice Nagisa tense up nor did she she see his fist clench. "What do you have planned fo—" "I told you I don't want to anywhere near those.. filthy animals!" an irate voice cried out. Toriel flinched as they saw the open door of the Principal's office. Principal Allen was arguing with yet another xenophobic parent, the third one this year.

"Mrs. Barnes, you haven't even met any of them yet. Please calm down."

"I don't need to meet them. They're just... monsters! They're freaks. They should have just stayed down in the damn cave where they belonged!"

Toriel could feel the rage boiling up in her chest despite her attempts to remain calm. How dare she-

Before she could even contemplate torching that idiotic woman, Nagisa laid a hand on her shoulder. Within almost a millisecond her anger simply... vanished without a trace. It was completely inexplicable.

"Can you wait out here please?" Nagisa asked gently. "I'll deal with her."

"But she-," Toriel began to speak but she calmed herself down within a second. If she lost control of her anger, it would only prove that human woman right. She had to be the better person, no matter what happened. With a sigh, Toriel relented, "Alright then, I'll wait here."

Nagisa nodded as he stepped pass her towards the office, stopping right in front of the door. But then he exhaled and Toriel felt him completely change. His posture, his very nature, shifted imperceptibly in a way that couldn't be explained, only felt.

It was as if a switch had been flipped; Nagisa no longer held the patient warmth that radiated from him like the sun but an almost suffocating aura of dread. Toriel almost felt like she was drowning in the tide of pure, undiluted, killing intent. But then an instant later the pressure vanished and Toriel let out a ragged breath she hadn't known that she was holding. Nagisa closed the door behind him with a soft click.

What was Nagisa? How could a human hold that much malice yet still be so kind?

-x-x-x-x-

It had been a while since Nagisa felt this much much anger in his body. He could feel the swirling emotions fill his body but he clamped down on it, holding it in check and using it to enhance his killing intent. He had Loops of practice to keep a handle on his rage rather than to let it control it like it had done many times before, and as such the boiling rage in his chest iced over into cold and sharp killing intent.

It had been a fairly interesting Loop thus far, monsters who had been previously trapped underground had risen to the surface to make peace with humanity. When the first monster and human school had opened, he naturally signed up immediately. He had met Toriel, a kind monster that seemed to be earnestly working hard to make every student's life happy and pleasant. It was a sentiment that he sympathized and he found himself quickly becoming great friends with her.

Alas, not all of the humans were as accepting as he was, and as such Toriel suffered as a result of that. This was one example he refused to ignore.

"Nagisa? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be-" Principal Allen asked before Nagisa politely cut him off.

"Toriel and I were heading to the meeting when we overheard your argument," he replied simply. The woman scowled.

"You're friends with that goat bitch? Are you that desperate that you'd whore yourself out to a filthy anim—" The parent was cut off the moment that Nagisa turned towards her and focused a small portion of his killing intent directly towards her. The woman froze instantly as if paralyzed; her eyes were wide as the primal centers of her brain sent signals into her body to lock up and not move.

Even during Baseline, his ability to manipulate his killing intent to paralyze and intimidate people had been a gift perfect for assassination. If he chose to, he could give her a heart attack and kill her right then and there by focusing all of his malice upon her. But that would prove nothing. Besides, he wanted her to remember what he was about to tell her.

The woman struggled to speak and breathe; it felt as if she as much as twitched she would die. If she so much as blinked she would die. If she so much as breathed she would die. A single wrong movement, and the blue-haired man in front of her would kill her in an instant. The woman was completely and utterly terrified of Nagisa.

As he fixed the woman with a small but intense glare Nagisa began to speak, "Toriel puts in three times as much work as most of the teachers here. She makes pie for the other staff members, including the janitors and the grounds-people. She treats every single person she comes across with respect and kindness. She always is willing to help out whenever and wherever it is needed."

The woman tried to speak but she couldn't take in enough air to whisper a single word. It was if as she was being strangled by a viper, its cold and scaly skin trapping her arms to her sides with a vice-like grip. She felt completely and utterly helpless; too terrified to even so much as whimper.

"Your attitude towards her is completely disgusting. I wonder... who's really the 'monster' here? Toriel herself is more human than someone like you will ever be."

Nagisa strolled forward towards the woman that was paralyzed by the pressure of his intent as the woman began to shake uncontrollably; wishing to flee but being unable to so much as blink. When Nagisa finally spoke, his warning was laced in a icy venom; like how a cobra bares its poison drenched fangs before it took your life.

"Leave and don't come back, or I will MAKE you leave."

With those last words, Nagisa sealed away his malicious intent and allowed the woman to fall flat on her rear. The woman babbled terrified before she rushed out of the room and ran as fast as her legs could carry her.

"R-Remind me not to piss you off Nagisa," Principal Allen panted, "And thank you for resolving that... conflict."

"It's no problem. If that's all we'll be heading over the meeting now." Nagisa smiled before opening the door again and leaving the principal to his thoughts.

"Beware the quiet ones indeed..." the principal sighed, "Who knew he had it in him?"

-x-x-x-x-

"I hope I didn't scare you," Nagisa told Toriel after the meeting had concluded. He did not know that monster such as Toriel were more sensitive to killing intent, and he was worried he had lost one of the friends he made this Loop.

"It was just... surprising that's all," she replied, rubbing her arm. "You just looked so... nice and quiet. I didn't think you could well, do that."

"It's a skill that I didn't want to use if possible." Nagisa's expression darkened for a split second before it vanished, "It's just that I just couldn't let them say something like that."

"Oh stop it, you're making me blush." Toriel teased with a gentle laugh, glad to have a chance to change the topic. Nagisa laughed along with her as the two of them walked side by side out of the school. "Although I am not quite sure if I approve of the way you did it... Thank you anyway."

Nagisa gave Toriel a kind and patient smile, and she knew instantly that it was genuine, "It's the least I can do for you. You're doing amazing things for the students. I'm sure that they're grateful to have you teach them regardless of what other people might think."

"I do hope so," she replied as the two of them exited out of the building and into the cold air. The monster watched the falling snow with no small amount of wonder; no matter how many times she saw it, the dancing crystals of ice had always intrigued her. She doubted that she would grow tired of it even if a dozen more lifetimes were to pass.

"Well, I'm meeting with a few friends in an hour or so. I'll see you in a few weeks Toriel." Nagisa stated with a gentle smile. Toriel returned the gesture cheerfully as the two of them set out on their separate ways.

"Have fun and stay safe!" Toriel called out.

"Stay safe." Nagisa replied warmly.

With those last two words the two Loopers parted, not knowing the other was Awake but choosing to treasure their friendship regardless of the circumstances.

 **Epilogue (Several dozen Loops later):**

Toriel thumbed through the class registry as the new school year began, quickly memorizing the names that had appeared on the roster with ease. She was now teaching high-school students rather than middle school and elementary, haven taken a considerable amount of time studying various things between Loops.

It was a different experience than it was before, but she welcomed the challenge. After all, a teacher learned as much from her students as they did from her. That was what she had learned so long ago.

There was a knock on her classroom door that caught her attention immediately. Strange, class wasn't supposed to start for another 15 minutes. Toriel shrugged before she set down the roster and headed towards the door and opened it.

"Sorry but can you-" her breath caught in her throat as she saw the student who was on the other side of the door. The child's blue hair and warm eyes gave him away instantly.

"Nagisa?" she whispered. The way that the boy's eyes widened helped her bridge the gap in her understanding. Somehow, he remembered her too.

"You're Looping?" Nagisa asked, bewildered. "I thought you weren't Awake."

"I thought the same of you." Toriel replied before she smiled. "Do you want to come in and catch up? So many things have happened since that Loop ended."

Nagisa smiled warmly, "I would like that."

* * *

12.7 – (DrTempo)

[Kill la Kill]

Ryuko Awoke to find herself in an odd tower. Temeni...something. Looking at her clothing, she was wearing a red coat alongside her usual attire. Noticing she was carrying twin handguns, she smirked.

'A Devil May Cry Loop, huh? This'll be fun as hell!'

-x-x-x-x- "I take that back."

Ryuko had recovered from being on the business end of her sister's katana; she'd gotten arrogant, and got impaled for her trouble. Although it did have the effect of unlocking the Devil Trigger form, which looked a little like Ryuko had when she'd gone berserk. Ryuko shook this off, and decided to continue he adventure. But first, she had to escape the Leviathan...

A while later… "Well done, everyone, well do—URK!"

Jester had been bragging about his successfully unleashing a portal to the demon world, but Satsuki (who had shown that her Devil Trigger form looked a lot like when she used Junketsu during the fight Ryuko had just had with her) had sliced him to ribbons.

Relaxing her Scissor Blade. Ryuko laughed. "How long have you been Awake, sis?"

"Since shortly before you made it to the top of the tower. I figured I'd let the clown have his fun. The blade he was trying to acquire is what will stop Mundus when he shows up, so I decided to play this foolish man's game." Ryuko shrugged. That was typical of Satsuki..always planning ahead. "Then let's go, sis. After we get that sword.…"

Satsuki chuckled. "Round 3?"

"You're on!"

* * *

12.8 - (krspaceT)

[Lyrical Nanoha/Bleach]

When she had heard tales of the Original Seven, Nanoha learned of each of their stories, and their large ensembles of fiendish foes.

Unlike many of her own 'enemies', most of them were motivated by greed and hate.

The genocidal Voldemort, the god complexed Aizen and the mad scientist Orochimaru were just a few of them.

However, there was only one villain among them that Nanoha actually hated, with no pity whatsoever.

-x-x-x-x-

His name was Tsukishima, and he was a Fullbringer, a kind of empowered human that came from the world Ichigo Kurosaki was anchor for.

It had been a simple Variant Loop where a group known as X-Cution was running around, comprised of several Fullbringers who were after magical power for some reason Nanoha really didn't recall, for her memories of that Loop were fixated solely on what Tsukishima did, not long after the conflict over the Book of Darkness.

He hadn't looked that dangerous at first: a tall but thin man with black hair dressed in white, armed only with a sword. Fate had went to fight him while she had stopped a time controlling old man and a probability altering punk.

While he had escaped, nothing had seemed wrong at first. Fate hadn't even suffered a stab would from their battle, even though she could have sworn she had been cut.

This had continued for a few more conflicts between her (aided by Fate and her allies in the Time-Space Bureau), with a few more confrontations between her friends and the white swordsman.

Yuno, Chrono, Vita, Signum, Arf… he had escaped them all, his blade having left no marks.

Eventually, he had been the last X-cution member standing: their normal leader Ginjou apparently not in the Loop. Nanoha had thought it was about to be over.

She had been wrong.

-x-x-x-x-

"Ah, Nanoha. Welcome back, hope you and Hayate had fun. Oh, I don't think you ever met, but one of your mother and I's old friends dropped by. He was one of my friends from..."

Nanoha didn't register what her father was saying, as she just stared in shock at who was sitting at the table, looking comfortable and happy among her family, who seemed to all adore him.

It was him… Tsukishima.

"Oh, this must be your little Nanoha" he said in a tone that would have sounded friendly to most, but it just sent shivers down Nanoha's spine about how wrong this scene was. "It's been years, your the spitting image of your mother you know"

Nanoha just stepped backwards in shock, before she rapidly changed gears and manifested Raising Heart in staff form, causing everyone at the table, bar Tsukishima, to stare at her in surprise.

"What… what did you do!?"

"What did I do? How odd of you to ask, your the one who just manifested a magical wand out of nowhere" Tsukishima said in a conversational tone.

-x-x-x-x-

As one might expect, it only got worse from there.

"Stand down Nanoha, your not well. You would never attempt to open fire on the person who taught you magic if you were. You obviously need help"

"What are you talking about Chrono!? Yuno taught me about magic, not that man!"

Everyone had gone crazy. Every, single, person.

Breaking out of the binds Chrono had restrained her with, Nanoha pointed Raising Heart right at the white dressed man, who had a look of false concern that made Nanoha's blood boil in a way it rarely did. Nanoha later reflected that moment could have put her in the Red Lantern Corps.

"Undo whatever it is you did! Divine Bust—"

She got punched in the chest by Arf for her efforts and crashed into the side of a building.

"Nanoha!? I don't know what's wrong with you, but I can't allow you to hurt the person who convinced Fate to live again" the busty familiar declared solemnly as Nanoha stood back up from inside the ruined building.

"That wasn't him..." Nanoha said in a faint voice.

But worst of all...

"Nanoha"

Was that Fate was just the same way.

"Is this a curse from one of X-Cution? Did they really make you this crazy" Fate, with a scythe-mode Bardiche, sounded sympathetic, which just made it worse really.

Her own best friend, the person most important to her, the other half of her she had never known she was missing...thought she was crazy.

"You once helped me hear your words, allow me to help you the same way you helped me. Please hear what we're trying to tell you Nanoha, Plasma Smasher"

-x-x-x-x-

However, it had been only her and Raising Heart Awake that Loop, which meant that Nanoha was far more powerful than anyone else there.

She had managed to take down each and everyone one of her friends, though only to a point of them being unable to stop her, as she confronted that man.

No...that title was too good for him, really.

Said Fullbringer found himself pinned to a wall by bind magic, with Raising Heart pointed right at him. His sword, the Book of the End, put inside her subspace pocket where he wouldn't be able to get it back.

"You know, I have always enjoyed my power" he told her as Nanoha ground her teeth in fury "I feel like one of those characters who can go back in time and change things. But why worry about stepping on butterflies and loosing the ability to speak as a result, when you can simply change people's memories. It's much more effective. But really, I just feel sorry for you Nanoha. All alone in this world, with your _false memories_..."

"Shut up!" Nanoha had tears of fury in her eyes now as she felt a loathing flow through her the likes of which she had never felt before "Avada Keda—"

{MASTER!} Raising Heart shouted in concern as the spell in question began to be cast.

-x-x-x-x-

Nanoha to this day still didn't know if she made the right call in sparing him, but what she did know was one thing: she **hated** Shukuro Tsukishima.

* * *

12.9 – (ThanosCradik)

[DBZ]

Vegeta was pissed. He was back in this stupid little pod flying to Earth for a freaking year, and the other reason was-

"Hey Vegeta, there's a Wally World over there! Let's go!"

"Oh my god Nappa, will you shut up! No we're not going to Wally World! We can't even steer these stupid things!"

"Aww."

The other reason was he was stuck with Abridged Nappa for this Loop. Again.

He was wondering if he should kill him or not. On one hand, if he's dead then he's stuck being haunted by Ghost Nappa. On the other, if he doesn't kill him then he's stuck with regular Abridged Nappa. Screwed if you don't, screwed if you do.

He guessed he could keep him around, it may be fun to see how another saiyan around could change what happens. Nappa was pretty loyal to him, and he...

He was singing something.

"Nappa, what the hell are you singing over there?"

"Some song my pod picked up. Come on Vegeta, sing with me! 'Mi-ia Hii~, Mi-ia Hoo~, Mi-ia Ha~, Mi-ia Ha-Ha~'"

 _'That's it. I'm ditching him with the first person I see.'_

* * *

12.10 – (Theburper)

[One Piece]

Robin walked up to Franky as he tinkered in the engine room of the Sunny.

"Franky, are you sure about this?"

"We need to make a SUPER stand. I can't think of any better way. Sabaody was evacuated in case of war spillover. G5 is all at Marineford. So the debris will fall safely. The only ones who will go are those bastards. And I've asked Sabo to clear them out."

Robin chuckled. "You really have thought this through, haven't you?"

"Hell yeah! I'm SUPER like that! But we'd best go up to the deck."

As they walked onto the deck, they found the rest of the crew waiting there.

Zoro spoke up. "Are we all ready for this?"

Sanji yapped back. "Of course, shitty Marimo!"

"Luffy, it's your call when we're ready." Nami stated.

"Then let's go!" Luffy pulled the lever to launch the Sunny into the air.

As they flew toward the Red Line, Nami shouted to Franky. "We've got the trajectory wrong! We're gonna crash into the Red Line!"

"Ahh! We're all gonna die!" Chopper bawled as he hugged Sanji.

"Not so fast! I've rigged a countermeasure!" Franky yelled from belowdeck. "SUPER GAON CANNON!"

The Thousand Sunny sailed through the hole in the Red Line... And then the hole started crumbling.

The entire crew watched in awe as the Red Line began crumbling below Marejois. "Impossible... That scared me out of my mind! SKULL JOKE!"

As Marejois fell, the Straw hats could make out the slaves and the revolutionaries standing on the edge of the gaping hole in the Red Line, looking down.

As they landed, narrowly dodging some debris, they stared at the final form of the crag. Or rather, the gaping hole in the Red line. One that went all the way down. Even Robin was just gobsmacked. "No way..."

 **-Some time later-**

Nami came running into the mess hall. "Luffy! Big news!" She laid out bounty posters.

Humming Brook 500,000,000

Giant monster Tony Tony Chopper 500,000,000

Cat burglar Nami 600,000,000

Sniper King 650,000,000

Demon child Nico Robin 700,000,000

Cyborg Franky AND Ship of destruction, Thousand Sunny 1,200,000,000

Black leg Sanji 1,300,000,000

Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro 1,400,000,000

Straw hat Monkey D. Luffy 1,500,000,000

* * *

12\. 22 – (GioGio)

[Naruto/Jojo]

Naruto could not help but feel a slight bit of disappointment as the guards of Gato's safe house instantly allowed him to pass. _"Why are all cliche mooks such perverted morons?"_ He was disguised in his Sexy Jutsu form wearing a tight kimono sure, but anyone who had half a brain cell should be able to tell a new girl they had never seen before walking in saying that she was someone recently hired was a red flag.

Especially since Gato _never_ 'hired' his women.

"Oh man, the boss sure got some good ones!" One of the two 'guards' of the safe house declared, his tongue waving lewdly as Sasuke (Whose Sexy Jutsu looked exactly like Naruto's only without whisker marks and black hair instead of blonde). "We should do a 'body check'!"

"Nah, the boss might get pissed if we touch the hired help!" The other one, who unsurprisingly had a pig-like face, spoke while giggling.

 _"Naruto, I swear I'm going to kill these two."_ Sasuke spoke through a mental link to the blonde.

 _"Come on Sasuke, you can do that after we take care of Gato."_ Naruto had to stop himself from laughing at his teammate's expense. _"Our sensei's coming up next. So just wait until..."_

"Hello boys! I brought tequila!"

A manly voice that was obviously trying to sound girly rang through the air, making the two disguised Shinobi look to see in front of the mooks was their 195 centimeter tall 'sensei' of the Loop Joseph Joestar. However instead of being disguised in the Sexy Jutsu like Naruto taught him, he was instead dressed a kimono that barely fit him. Its bottom only reached the middle of his thighs, and showed all of Joseph's obviously masculine muscles. His feet were in high heels and his hair was slicked back to help 'complete' the disguise. However to really finish the disguise Joseph also included two coconuts under his shirt as 'breasts', some red flush on his cheeks, lipstick on his lips, and purple eyeliner under his eyes which were probably all generously donated by Sakura.

"Can I pass, hot stuff?" Joseph asked in his shrill 'girly' voice, winking at the guards while waving bottles of tequila in his hands.

"...Is he serious?" Naruto and Sasuke asked simultaneously, unable to believe the actions of their fellow Looper.

And it turned out that the mooks themselves had some smarts, as they just stared disbelieving at Joseph.

"Where the hell do you think you're going!?" The pig-faced guard demanded as they both unsheathed their swords and pointed them at Joseph.

"Eh? What's wrong boys?" Joseph asked in his 'disguised' voice, approaching the two.

"Don't come any closer you freak!" The long-tongued one declared, solidifying that they were not falling for it.

"Damn! You guys are as good as the krauts! You saw straight through my perfect disguise!" Joseph cursed in his normal voice, dropping his disguise completely.

"How the hell was that even remotely 'perfect'?!" Sasuke and Naruto shouted once again in sync.

"You idiot! No broad is that buff or big!" The pig-faced guard declared with a laugh.

"Can't you tell what you look like moron!?" The other asked in a mocking tone, making Joseph glare at them.

"I'm tired of hearing that from low-level idiots like you!" Joseph shouted before pointing the two tequila bottles at the guards. "Ripple Overdrive!" The blue light of the Ripple flowed through the bottles, and the two corks popped out of the bottles, nailing the guards in the noses. As they cracked and spewed blood everywhere Joseph ran forward and kicked the two in the head with his left leg.

"SASHIMI!" The guards yelled simultaneously before falling blissfully into unconsciousness.

"Okay, time out." Naruto sighed as he and Sasuke dispelled their Sexy Jutsus. "Why didn't you do what we planned? I mean I taught you how to use Chakra and everything..."

"Well, I wanted to see if my disguise skills have improved." Joseph admitted with a chuckle.

"That had to be the worst female disguise I have ever seen. And I've been Looping as long as this idiot." Sasuke thumbed over to Naruto. "How can Caesar deal with you if you're like this all the time?"

"Well, lets just say little Caesar isn't above doing a few little tricks like this now and then." Joseph then began to drag one of the guards away, probably to strip him and disguise himself in the guard's clothes.

Naruto sighed, but could not help but grin at Joseph's antics.

Even for a 'young' Looper, Joseph Joestar was pretty interesting.

* * *

12.12 – (kingofsouls)

[Eyeshield 21]

If there was anything Sena was good at, it was running.

Specifically running away from something that intended to cause him bodily harm, or running towards something that intended to cause him bodily harm, dodging it, then immediately running away from it.

Now seemed to be the best time to do that as a horde chased the Anchor with vile intent.

The horde consisted of humans with metal seemingly growing out of their bodies, the steel and wires entering and exiting the skin at irregular intervals. They clearly had a zombie vibe, even though they were clearly alive, and significantly smarter than a zombie while being just as dangerous.

Thankfully their metallic mutations hadn't made them any _faster_ , so Sena was easily able to outrun them to the point of triviality.

Dodging them was a different can of worms, as a mob of easy five dozen was in front of him eager to impede his journey towards salvation.

With a shout, Sena charged ahead without a moment of hesitation; the path that lay before him glowing in his mind's eye.

The mob roared back and each of them lunged at Sena with the intent to kill. The leader of the mob lunged first, his metallic first racing towards his target.

"The Devil's Fourth Dimension!"

In a flash Sena dodged backwards without losing any speed, racing past the attack. The leader groaned in confusion as Sena raced towards the rest of the mob. They lunged in turn, but Sena dodged them in such a manner that made the attacks seem to go as fast as a snail.

Just as quickly as it began, it ended as Sena ran away from the mob he had evaded, not looking back at the mob that struggled to comprehend how they were beaten.

"I hate apocalypse Loops." Sena moaned as he raced towards...well he didn't know where he was going, but it beat where he currently was that's for sure.

He didn't get a chance to think on that any longer as a fist came out of nowhere, Sena tumbling to the ground and skidding across the pavement, stopping only when he smashed into an abandoned car.

A single scream escaped Sena's mouth when his body hit the car, followed by Sena sliding off the car and into the ground. With labored breath Sena struggled to get up, the blaring screech of the car alarm not doing him any favors. Though his eyesight was blurry, he saw his assaulter: A muscular metal-skinned human with more metal than skin. His left eye was odd to say the least: It seemed to be less of an eye and more of a glowing servo.

"Target acquired. Scan indicates that subject is not appropriate for the Horde's needs. Proceeding to terminate."

The metal man then charged, his fist raised with the intent clear as day.

Wasting no time, Sena got his feet, bracing himself for the attack. At the last moment, Sena countered, sweeping his arm aside and catching the metal-man off guard for just a moment. "Devil Stun Gun!"

Sena then followed up with a punch to the face, the blow forcing the meta-man back.

This did not deter the attacker whom charged yet again. The attack was quicker, not by much but still faster than the previous attack, Sena almost deterred the attack with a quick Devil Stun Gun to save his face - and his life - from the attack.

A Second trust followed immediately after the deflection, and Sena yet again barely avoided grievous harm with his other arm, the two arms locked in combat, never yielding to the other.

The impacts of powerful blows against his skinny arms seemed to catch up to the teen, Sena struggling to keep his arm from pushing the more powerful arm of his foe from approach. Noticing the struggle's subtleties, the metal man grinned as his single robotic eye scanned Sena. "Surrender to assimilation. Your physical stature cannot stand against us. Join us, and be one with us."

Sena's narrowed eyes told the machine man all it needed to know. "Very well then. Termination it is. Pray that there is a God."

A quick retreat of his engaged arm caught Sena of balance for a fraction of a second, and the next thrust hit like a truck, sending Sena to the ground on his knees.

The metal man then raised this hands above his head, clutched together like a hammer aimed at a rock.

 _*Beep-Beep!*_

"What...?"

Both Sena and the metal man turned to face the sound, originating from a bus skidding out of an unseen corner, horn echoing through the mostly empty streets.

Sena realized what the bus was going to do. He got off of his knees and leapt backwards.

The metal man did not, trying to process what his optics was seeing, and thus did not react fast enough - or at all for that matter - when the bus rammed into him, launching him several feet away and smashing into the ground with a heavy thud.

Sena sighed. He was saved.

The door to the bus opened, revealing the driver: A familiar blond driving the bus with a familiar machine gun on the floor by his side.

"Hiruma!"

"'Get in ya damn pipsqueak!

Sena wasted no time racing to the bus's door and to safety, but fate had other

A heavy hand gripped Sena's leg, crushing it with overwhelming force. Sena fell to the ground face first, which scrapped along the road as he was pulled back. If he had to hazard a guess, the metal man recovered faster than expected and was not going to give up.

The man then lifted Sena up by the leg, dangling him into the air. The expression of his assaulter was unchanging, stoic and calm despite the violence.

For the first time in a long time, Sena felt fear.

A chorus of bullets came from the machine gun, each bullet striking their mark, but to Hiruma's horror the metal skin of the metal man was bullet proof.

The metal man almost laughed, facing Hiruma. "You are a man. I am a monster. A man can never defeat a monster."

At that Hiruma burst into laughter. "Oh really? good thing I have a monster of my own!"

From out of Sena's eye was a blur racing towards him.

A familiar one, that of a rival.

The metal man saw the newcomer out of his eye's corner, and that was all he could see before the newcomer tackled him, lunging his arm into the metal man like a spear.

The force of the tackle ended all resistance, the metal man falling to his knees, causing Sena to hit the ground on his head. Thankfully the distance was minimal and thus the damage.

Shaking his head, Sena got a good look at his savior. "Shin!"

Shijuro Shin said nothing, simply helping Sena get to his feet. Hiruma, ever the impatient one when he wanted to be, honked the horn. "Come on ya damn kids, get in!"

Sena and Shin didn't need to be told twice, quickly entering bus just as a horde of metal infected people emerged from the horizon, eager to end the three.

* * *

12.1 – To wear the face of man, but have nothing of mankind left within you, is the mark of a monster. Pity them if you wish, but do not spare them judgment.  
12.2 – Ooarai oohrah! Team Anglerfish represent!  
12.3 – I know veggies aren't very manly, but what good's a sandwich without lettuce at least? C'mon guys, seriously.  
12.4 -The SOS Brigade has drafted Yggdrasil itself as it's newest member. Abandon ye all hope, for there is no escape.  
12.5 -Respect is earned, not given. And Alucard recognizes that which is deserving of his.  
12.6 – Friendship, unlike bigotry, recognizes neither race nor creed nor species. Mercy is given unto all equally.  
12.7 – Looks like the jokes on Jester.  
12.8 – Everyone has a limit. A point at which no more can be allowed to stand. Nanoha just found hers.  
12.9 – Saiyan warrior Numa… er, I mean Nappa. Yes, that's what I meant. Yes.  
12.10 – Clearly Franky has been getting tips from Alex Mercer on Red Lines and how to cross them.  
12.11 – Well. Um. At least he's got his lines right?  
12.12 – Zombie Apocalypses: still less dangerous than a Super Bowl fan riot.


	13. Chapter 13

13.1 – (Kris Overstreet)

[Haruhi Suzumiya/O7]

To put it as simply as possible, time was broken, repeating itself in endless Loops.

If you don't need this explained further, you can skip down to, "Thus Loopers have bars," and you won't miss much.

To put it a little less simply but a lot more accurately, all possible universes in time and space were broken. Yggdrasil, the system which kept all possible universes running backwards and forwards throughout time, had been severely damaged. (Yggdrasil was something like a supercomputer, something like a world-tree, and something like a complete mystery even to the beings who ran it, the Admins, against whom all gods are mere shadows and reflections.)

No solution had been found after billions, even trillions of years of down-time. (Even that phrase is inexact. Time moves differently on the dimensional level of the Admins and between universes. There is no fixed ratio or equivalency. Only the largest of events can serve as any sort of historical benchmarks between worlds.)

This is not to say nothing was being done. The Admins are vague about whether or not Yggdrasil began the first Loop itself or if the Admins did it, but the tactic of taking strategic universes and multiverses and cycling them through the most critical portion of their histories- that bit of time that made each world the most unique- was tested, refined, and gradually expanded. Rather than ceasing to exist or remaining frozen in a moment, worlds began to exist again, though only in a limited and controllable (in theory) fashion.

Looping works like this: one critical being (for sufficiently vague definitions of the word) becomes the Anchor for the Loop. That being experiences the same segment of time over and over again. At the end of that time, everything in the universe instantly reverts to the way they were at the beginning of the Loop... except the Anchor's memories, which he/she/it/we/they retain. Gradually, by Admin intervention or (more commonly) by random act of Yggdrasil, lesser Loopers may join the Anchor in remembering past Loops.

The system is not perfect. For one thing, Yggdrasil is still broken beyond even immortal comprehension. Occasionally it mis-processes data, sending Loopers from one world to join or even Replace beings in another world, even worlds not yet themselves Looping. (This is called a Crossover Loop.) It may try to run two worlds simultaneously in the same data stream. (This is a Fused Loop.) It can even activate a world's Loop using not its normal history (its Baseline) but a lower-probability variant much like alternate history (a Variant Loop).

For another thing, Anchors and other Loopers are not mere computer programs. They are beings with free will, and they tend to resent repeating their lives, the same events, the same challenges, over, over, and over again. Stir crazy does not begin to describe it. The resulting shenanigans are often bizarre, insane, and really fun to watch.

Looping life is not all repetition and rebellion, however. If the Anchor of a given Loop gets killed, the Loop terminates early, leading to a system crash of varying strength. There are other ways for a Loop to crash, but Anchor death is the most common.

Some crashes have negligible effect, and the Anchor in question gets sent to a stable but annoying Safe Mode Loop until the Anchor's home is fixed. (The most stable of these is Eiken, a world loathed by most Loopers for various reasons.) Sometimes the damage is serious, and a nasty Punishment Loop may be selected by the Admins as a reminder of why suicide (or suicidal foolishness) is discouraged unless the current Loop has really gone bad.

Recently, in the extreme vagueness which is cross-world time flow, there had been a capital-C Crash. An attempt to bring a fragile, virus-infected Loop online had resulted in the absolute erasure from time, space and memory of an entire universe. The resulting Crash had struck almost every Loop, and the Admins had had to shut down those few that hadn't crashed automatically. The Crash had been the most destructive incident since the Event Zero that had triggered the Loops in the first place.

If you managed to get through all of that, you're probably thinking: "What the hell? I need a drink."

Now imagine how the Admins, Anchors and Loopers all feel, after experiencing uncountable years of it.

Thus Loopers have bars, and this was one such. In fact, Eden Hall was the only thing distinguishing the entire world it sat in from anything else. Its proprietor had learned, many, many Loops before, how to go from empty lot to enormous facility licensed to serve alcohol to members only in under twenty-four hours... which was good, because when Yggdrasil occasionally dumped hundreds of Loopers into his world at one shot, even one day wasn't nearly quick enough. If you Awoke in the world with Eden Hall in it, it was for only one reason: to go to the bar and relax.

This time the crowd was much larger than usual, and so was Eden Hall. The main public room ran the size of a major hotel's grand ballroom, with a main bar and several satellite watering holes spaced here and there. Various Loopers sat or stood at various gaming tables, not merely the usual pool or Foosball or poker or pachinko or mahjong, but also favorites from other worlds like Tacti-Go, Gladius, and 3D-Chess. Even the rule books for dragon poker and fizzbin, generally used as booster seats for hobbits and other small-statured Loopers, had been dusted off by the most experienced gamblers in the room. Hallways led off to guest bedrooms and (a recent addition) meeting rooms for mutual support groups.

The night was just getting started, with nigh on a thousand Loopers and Anchors, and possibly one or two Admins, settling in for an indefinite period of very definite unwinding.

When two confused-looking Japanese high school students staggered dizzily through the door, stepped in, and looked around, only the people seated at the tables closest to the door noticed at first. That was enough. Three or four of those people recognized the new arrivals and told their table mates. The people in the next table over asked for clarification. Word got passed. Voices swiftly quietened. In about three minutes the entire vast room was reduced to whispers, mutters and staring eyes.

The female student smiled and put her hands on her hips as she began to hear her name whispered in awe, fear, and annoyance: Haruhi Suzumiya.

Off in one of the darkest corners, four chairs scooted, drawing the eyes of much of the crowd. Four figures began walking towards the two staring kids. To look at, each of the four people was about the same age as the newcomers- middle to late adolescence, give or take, except for their eyes and the easy way they moved. These were four of the Original Seven, the first Anchors of the first Loops, the most ancient, experienced and powerful Loopers by orders of magnitude.

The female of the four led the way, walking up to the schoolgirl and saying, "Hiya! I'm Lina Inverse! Nice to see you're finally Looping!"

Hundreds of seats shifted slightly. One of the Seven had approved of the newcomers. Trouble was, if not averted, severely discouraged.

Haruhi's face lit up even brighter. "THE Lina Inverse?" she grinned. "You've gotta tell me all about Seiruun! Can you teach me the Dragon Slave?" She held up her hands and shouted, "DRAGON SLAVE!" Half the beings in the room ducked under tables for a moment, only emerging to the razzing and laughter of the other half.

"Yeah, no, kid," Lina replied. "I had to promise to stop teaching people my strongest spells. As it is, too many Loopers pick 'em up when they Replace me for a Loop back home." She grabbed Haruhi's arm and said, "But I can teach ya how to use the karaoke machine, and they've got a roast dish with yams and noodles that's to die for!"

Grinning with undisguised glee, Haruhi let herself be dragged away by the Sixth Looper, leaving her companion to stare into three male faces.

"I'm guessin' you're Kyon," the tallest of the three said.

"And you're Ranma Saotome," the schoolboy replied. "I never thought I'd see you outside a manga, though. Not even after hanging around Haruhi as long as I have." He turned his gaze to a boy only slightly shorter than Ranma, but much less broad in the shoulder and strong of build. "And you look just like Shinji Ikari."

"Yeah, there's a reason for that," Shinji replied.

Kyon looked at the third figure, shorter and slightly younger than the other two, thick-rimmed glasses half-masking a distinctive scar on his forehead. "I'm afraid I don't recognize you offhand," he said, "though I probably should."

The younger boy's mouth curled in a half-grin. "I don't hear that nearly often enough," he said. "Harry Potter's the name."

Kyon slapped his head. "Stupid!" he grumbled. "We visited your world about a dozen Loops ago. I Replaced you." He shuddered, adding, "And Haruhi's last name was Granger, if that means anything."

"Not Weasley?" Potter's smirk grew slightly broader, but instead of digging deeper, he said, "We thought you might like to join us at our table."

"They let kids our age have a table in a bar?" Kyon asked.

"Well, the bartenders are a bit sticklers for biological age," Potter said, "but there are ways around that. Aging potions." He shrugged and added, "Can't see the point, really. Back home using potions to age up wouldn't save you or the publican from John Law. And it's not like this Loop lasts long enough for long-term alcohol damage to the system to be an issue."

"Said the Brit," Ranma remarked, and Shinji nodded agreement. "Europe is a lot more relaxed about this sort of thing than Japan. And don't get started about the Americans!"

"It certainly doesn't feel that relaxed to me!" Potter protested.

"Butterbeer," Ranma and Shinji chorused.

Kyon glanced suspiciously between the three older bickering Loopers. "Under the circumstances, I'm thinking tea is the safer choice."

"Smart kid," Potter said. "Shall we clear the doorway?"

Back at the table in the corner of the room, the three ancient Loopers explained the basic rules of etiquette and access for the Looper Bars Kyon or his friends might encounter in future.

"Thanks for the info," Kyon shrugged at the end of it, "but I think it's mostly wasted information. If I begin drinking to relax and recover from Haruhi's activities, I'll die of liver failure before my Loop's proper end. And I've learned the hard way you can't get alcohol in Eiken."

"Yeah, well," Ranma shrugged, "this is just a thing we older Loopers do for new guys who come to the bar for the first time. Helps avoid misunderstandings."

"More to the point," Potter said, "all four of us- Lina included- visited your world at least once when it was still read-only. I don't think Ichigo, Usagi or Naruto have."

"No, Naruto did," Ranma corrected. "But Sakura Replaced Haruhi, so he crashed that Loop FAST."

"Really? Well, that's close enough to never visited as never mind," Potter shrugged. "And I suspect the four of us being here for your first visit wasn't an accident."

"I don't suspect, I know," Shinji snorted. "There's no such thing as coincidence. Some Admin or other wanted to ease you into broader Looper society."

"Of course Lina loved being Haruhi," Ranma said. "Lina's not quite as prickly as Haruhi is, but they're both take-charge girls. And Lina loves power. I mean, really loves it."

"My visit was short," Shinji said. "I wasn't going to put up with the bullshit Haruhi was slinging out, so the Loop ended about two months in."

"I had my own fun," Harry smiled. "Haruhi's a pill and no mistake, but she's massively better than the Dursleys. And I admit," he added with an outright mischievous grin, "the clubs at your school really are quite boring. The SOS Brigade was often annoying and occasionally terrifying, but never boring." He chuckled as he added, "By the end I'd actually managed to get the student council to approve the SOS Brigade. I bet you haven't managed that yet, have you?"

"And I've been you three times, Haruhi once, and Yuki once," Ranma said. "I think it's something of a harem anime thing."

"Since when is my world a harem anime?" Kyon retorted, eyes wide in shock.

The other three grinned at him. "Really?" Shinji asked. "Haven't you figured it out yet?"

"The thing is," Ranma said, moving past the moment of unfair amusement, "we all know how powerful Haruhi Suzumiya is in Baseline. How dangerous. And how... what's the word?"

"Unpredictable?" Harry suggested.

"Fickle. Pigheaded. Selfish. Sociopathic," Shinji snapped in quick suggestion.

"Anyway, we know how she is, and none of us thought the Admins would ever, EVER let your world Loop." Ranma clasped his hands together and leaned forward over the table. "And then about a hundred Loops ago one of the pony Loopers brought me a message from Twilight Sparkle, who said she met you and that you were Looping."

"I heard the same thing from Condor Joe," Shinji nodded.

"So what we're all wondering," Harry said, "is how exactly this happened? And what can we expect from a Looping Suzumiya?"

"Tell us all about it," Ranma said, intense blue eyes staring over his callused hands. "I've read the novels. You're good at telling stories."

"Oh, brother," Kyon moaned. "Obviously I never wrote those novels! Someone in some other world, what Twilight calls the hub world, did that! And Tanigawa didn't get anything like everything in the books." Slumping back in his chair, he grumbled half to himself, "But he got way too much of what he did get."

"Tell us anyway," Ranma said. "Start at the very beginning. If we get bored we can get this room started in a round of, 'Never Have I Ever.'"

"The beginning?" Kyon stared at the ceiling for a moment, then shrugged. "So long as Miss Inverse keeps Haruhi busy, it's fine by me. But only after I get some tea."

* * *

13.2 – (KrspaceT)

[Gurren Lagann/Winnie The Pooh]

Sora just stared at the sight before him, an average visit to the 100 Acre Wood would be one for the books.

"Well, I guess we're going to have to drill to the heavens today" The oddest fusion yet commented in the same dull tone he normally had, but with the glasses and words of someone completely different.

This, was the Loop of Kamina Eeyore.

* * *

13.3 – (Dalxein)

[Kill la Kill/MLP]

Cheerilee twitched Awake, as if she'd just dozed for a moment. She was human again. Standing, too- but luckily there was a blackboard right in front of her that she caught her weight against. It always took a moment to remember how to balance on two legs. She glanced around, and was obviously in a classroom. There was chalk in the hand she'd braced herself with, and a book in the other, held open to a certain page with her thumb. Thumbs. She still wasn't used to those things. She could use them fine, but… She wondered when she'd finally be home. Finally be a pony again. She bit back a sniffle and dove into her recent Loop memories. She was still a teacher, and the silence was starting to get awkward.

"In 1933, the National Socialist German Worker's Party came into power." She said, writing as she spoke. Japanese, of all things… "This was the birth of Chancellor Hitler. Eventually, Germany's post-war Democracy gave rise to Fascism." This world already sounded bleak…

A bang at the door startled the whole class. For a moment, everything was silent.

Then the huge steel door was kicked through the classroom and out the windows on the other side. Luckily no one was hit by it, but the shock wave spread through the room, blowing everything back. Cheerilee found herself firmly on her flank on the floor, staring in horror out into the hall. Slowly, a massive imposing figure pushed his way through the door. His skin was tanned, his hair slicked and pale, his uniform the same white and star motif as the other students filing in after him, but much more of it.

Her local memories supplied a name.

"Gamagoori?" she asked.

He had stopped just in front of her. After a moment, he held his hand out. Hesitantly, she reached out to grasp it, and the young man easily lifted her clear off her feet by that one held hand, gently setting her back on her feet. She thought she saw him just barely nod before he turned back to the class.

It was suddenly very loud.

"I AM IRA GAMAGOORI, DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE CHAIR!" The huge man shouted. He then began to pace in front of the students, all back in their seats.

Except for one. She hadn't noticed her before, but the girl in the black and red uniform and the red stripe in her hair was leaning against the back corner. A tickle in her mind told her that this was the new student, here a day early. The young woman slowly slipped a finger in front of her pursed lips. A Looper, then; possibly the local Anchor. Strangely, no one else seemed to notice her, but Cheerilee wasn't about to jump to questioning odd things in an odd world. The moment passed in an instant, and Ira was on the warpath again.

"Students of second year class K! We have determined that there is someone who intends harm against Honnouji Academy among you!" He paused to change the direction of his pacing. "Excuses will fall on deaf ears, this person will be punished immediately!"

One of the students slowly rose to his feet, knocking his desk aside as he did so. The curly-haired boy looked terrified, but still raised a ball in one hand while clutching a case to his chest with the other. He threw the ball down, engulfing the classroom in smoke. He fled out the door while Gamagoori took the direct route and leapt out the shattered windows.

She was still staring out the window when the new girl sidled up next to her. "Yes, my Loop is always this crazy." She said with an odd fondness.

"What just happened?" Cheerilee barely managed.

"That masochist gorilla's always good for a chuckle, but you haven't seen anything yet. Meet me after school, we'll get you settled in so you don't wind up dead before the week's out, ya timid little thing." She slapped her teacher on the back and walked out. Everyone either ran to the windows or out the door to get a better view on a lower floor, but Cheerilee could see clearly enough as she watched what was probably the worst beat-down she'd ever witnessed.

What did she get dumped in the middle of this time?

-x-x-x-x-

She'd ridden back to her apartment for the Loop with the new student and Anchor- Ryuko. The young woman had pulled a large, bulky and angular red motorcycle dotted with stickers and decals out from behind her back the same way she'd seen other Loopers magically grab items. Subspace Pockets, she thought.

Now that they were alone though, no school or super-powered students or classes to distract her, Cheerilee finally had a chance to stop and absorb what'd all happened. Her Loop memories told her that she was an agent of a group called Nudist Beach who were trying to prevent living and semi-parasitic clothing from killing people, or giving the wrong sort the kinds of superpowers they needed to do so themselves.

"I'm still so confused…"

Ryuko chuckled from where she was rummaging in her teacher's cupboards to make some tea for her. "Honnouji does that. At least most things go on for a reason around here, even if the reasons don't make sense half the time." She brought back cups for both of them. "So, how much do you know about all this Looping business? You had the multiverse talk yet? Know how to handle in-Loop memories? Figured out Subspace Pockets? Those are pretty much the most important things."

Cheerilee shook the daze away. "Yes, yes, and no… How did you even know I was so new to this, anyway?"

That got a grin. "An experienced Looper deals with threats, especially unexpected ones, in one of two ways: breaking it with overwhelming force, or manipulating it so that it's no longer a problem. It gets to be second nature, really. You didn't try either when Gamagoori popped up. You were just scared."

"So what happens now?" The once-mare asked.

A bigger grin, this one malicious. "Me and Needles McShooty can take care of anything that pops up in this Loop, so you can sit back and stay out of the spotlight if you like. Practice your Pocket. I can teach you if you need it, but I'm kinda' new myself. All I can fit in mine is my bike. Makes getting around the city a lot easier, though." She glanced down. "Also, you should stop that."

Cheerilee started, wondering what she was talking about when she glanced down and noticed her blouse was undone, and her hands had been fidgeting with the front clasp of her bra. Apparently her Loop memories came with a new nervous tic. With a mighty 'eep', she flushed red and started re-securing her clothing as quick as her growing dexterity with human digits would allow.

Ryuko just chuckled, though. "I don't envy you. There must be all sorts of messed up stuff in that pervert's head, having all his memories must be terrible."

"It's just that I'm normally a pony. We don't even need to wear clothes if we don't want to. All these human taboos are messing with me!" Oh, why did she have to Replace a proud exhibitionist in this Loop?

Thinking about her pony days reminded her that she did in fact have a triune of daisies tattooed somewhere on her body this Loop…

She wasn't going to stop blushing for a while.

"You're kidding me, a horse?" Ryuko boggled.

"Pony." Cheerilee corrected.

After a moment, the girl shrugged. "Alright, I've heard weirder. Let's get you started on your Subspace Pocket."

-X-X-X-X-

Over the several weeks she'd been a teacher at Honnouji Academy, Cheerilee had managed to create and access her Subspace Pocket, and was currently training herself to expand it by seeing how many coins she could fit in it before removing them and trying again, and making excellent progress considering she still had her job to worry about. She'd learned a lot about the Loop and how it was different from others. Her in-Loop memories of having studied Life Fibers under Ryuko's father helped significantly.

Ryuko had also introduced her to another Looper, Mako. The girl was frightfully reminiscent of Pinkie Pie without the obsession for partying.

Oddly, according to them the first people to start Looping after that were rivals and antagonists. The girl running the school, Satsuki Kiryuin was currently Awake, but tended to seclude herself. She and Ryuko shared a truce against a greater enemy, and the years of Looping conflict had boiled their relationship down to friendly if violent rivalry rather than true antagonism. Tsumugu, whom she otherwise referred to in derogatory nicknames like 'Needles McShooty' was not Awake this Loop, but had been described as warmer towards Ryuko and Mako than Kiryuin was. Cheerilee was taking the place of the last known Looper, the perverted teacher Mikisugi.

Today was supposed to be some sort of tournament, and she'd been advised to stay out of it while Ryuko and Satsuki teamed up against someone they mutually hated.

Teamed up and using all of the strongest fighters in the school, they were guaranteed to win, but…

"My name is Ryuko Matoi. You killed my father. Prepare to die." The Anchor said, half-jokingly as she pointed one of the pair of scissor blades she wielded from the stock she collected through the Loops at the girl.

"Tehehee, you actually seem to think you can beat me." Nui Harime, the girl in the Lolita dress with a parasol and a kanji eyepatch, tittered. "It's going to take more than just you and your friends to do that. If you're not careful, they'll all die like your father did!"

Maybe it was how maniacally cheery the girl was when she said that, her smile never wavering, but it set Cheerilee's blood boiling. How dare this girl threaten the students? The children? She barely heard anything else that was said as she marched right up behind Satsuki's lieutenants and grabbed the scruff of the girl, Nonon's, uniform.

With a deft flick of her wrist, she was now holding said uniform, while the girl was trying to cover her underwear indignantly.

She spared an idle thought that this Loop must be affecting her more than she expected it to, as she held the uniform forward in her balled fist. "You will not hurt my students! I don't care if they can fight for themselves, or if you have some reason or excuse to not like them for using these uniforms for their power, but they are my students, children under my care, and you will have to go through me first!"

Ryuko wondered if she should've mentioned that people died in this Loop all the time and it wasn't that big an issue, but hey, if she wanted to call out the bad guy she was welcome to do so.

Nui just tilted her head and giggled.

A second later and the schoolteacher had donned the uniform despite its snug fit. Her knowledge of the life fibers, earth pony magic, her sheer boiling blood and will to hurt something combined to shift the garment into its secondary stage. She stood there in a yellow and red skintight battle suit, the triple-star pattern replaced by her own three daisies.

And then she charged.

-X-X-X-X-

Cheerilee looked up at the sky through the crater she'd been deposited into. She lay naked, battered and bruised in the dust and debris of the final moments of her fight when Nui had finally managed to destroy her uniform. She'd be surprised if the fight even lasted half a minute.

The sounds of combat from outside her hole in the ground had ceased, and a shadow walked into view on its rim. Ryuko stood grinning down at her for a moment before hopping in to help her up.

"You did good." She said to the teacher, lifting her up so she could lean on the girl's shoulder. "You got your ass kicked, but you did good. Way better than you should've all things considered. Let's get you home and cleaned up."

The both of them smiled.

(Several weeks later)

"Well, Loop's ending." Ryuko said. She, Mako and Cheerilee were in the teacher's apartment for a small celebration. "It was nice meeting you, and… here." She handed the teacher a small red and black band.

"A bracelet?" She asked.

The Anchor nodded. "I managed to convince miss high-and-mighty to have this made for you. Made with Life Fibers. Hopefully it'll help keep you safe out there, and now you've got something to stick in that new Pocket of yours." She said with a grin.

Cheerilee nodded, her eyes tearing up a little. The red lines dancing across the surface of the thin fabric were rather pretty… It was a very kind gesture. "Thank you."

They shared a few last stories and tea while they waited the last hour for the Loop to reset.

Some students, you never forget.

* * *

13.4 – (Vinylshadow)

[Hellsing/Prototype]

"American heathen!"

"Irish swine!"

"Abomination!"

"Hello, pot, have you met my friend kettle?"

"I am nothing like you!"

"Ehh, give it some time."

Alucard watched the back and forth between one Alex Mercer and one Alexander Anderson, loudly chewing popcorn.

"So, how long do you think it'll take for them to kiss?" he asked Seras.

"Ten euros on twenty minutes."

"You're on," Alucard agreed as the two Alex started beating the shit out of each other.

* * *

13.5 – (Leviticus Wilkes)

[Evangelion/Admin Space]

Ganesha was reasonably proud of his accomplishments, when it came down to it. He had activated Homestuck and set an Anchor. He'd fixed a problem that had plagued Evangelion for millennia. Attack on Titan was expanding at a steady, stable pace. Steven Universe's world was looking beautiful. And the infinite multiverse inside of the Magic: the Gathering world was well and truly stable.

Yes, everything was going great for Ganesha... except one thing. Well, actually it was two things, but the first caused the second, and the first was named Yui Ikari.

Now after his success with Carla in the Walled World, Ganesha had decided to examine the code for Yui. There was very little doubt in his mind that Yui was Loopable: she was the mother to the Anchor, after all. Though... the rule of emotional proximity didn't seem to include parents, for some reason. After all, he had to directly intervene with Carla, Gendo had been an accident caused by Billy, and Greg had been Jumpstarted by his relocation of Lapis Lazuli.

Yui... Yui would be a tricky one. Her soul was bound up inside of Unit One, and bound tightly, because she had chosen to be in there. There was a good chance that if he got Yui Looping, Unit One would almost certainly start Dreaming. Which would probably be very, very bad. Granted, the opposite wasn't true. The Evangelion was actively trying to drive Yui out of it, meaning that if it started Looping, it would certainly not be happy.

But these were challenges that Ganesha was certain he could handle with time and peace. Problem number two was that he didn't have peace: his peace was being nearly monopolized by one incredibly annoying lightning deity.

"I just don't see why you don't plug in Le Eyo's Looping program," Zeus repeated.

Ganesha stubbornly refused to sigh. He would not sigh in Zeus' company. It was impolite.

By now, the question of why Ganesha had let Zeus into his cubicle when he had personally denied his own father entry into his mother's house for years may have arisen. The answer was, well, Parvati. "Play nice with Zeus sweetheart. His skin is mine to flay."

Oh, mothers. Aren't they just the best?

That being said, the mother Ganesha wanted to activate was a rather... complicated mess. Her code was all over the place, her soul was tainted in strange ways, and then there was the mess with Unit One and Shinji: Yggdrasil couldn't decide if they were Soul-Bound or not.

Yes, Evangelion happened to be one of the first "Problem Worlds" of Yggdrasil. Even to this day, with a complete Baseline and billions if not trillions of years of local world analysis, it was still the least populated of the Original Seven worlds, and no one was really sure what the hell was going on with it. Activating Loopers, even considering it's age and relative stability, was a risky endeavor. Activating any of them with Le Eyo's special Activation was... well...

When Yggdrasil was good and ready to start a Looper, the Looper was started like a car: the ignition was turned on, and after a few tries, the Looper got going. Le Eyo's program was the equivalent of trying to start a carbureted car without gas in the float bowl and letting the starter run.

Ganesha blinked. 'Wait... what? That's a very odd comparison.'

The Hindu deity slid away from his desk. "Activating a Looper with Le Eyo's program can irreversibly damage their code. If they fail to activate, then their code will destabilize further with each attempt, decaying over time. It could not possibly-"

"What was that?" Zeus said as he plugged Yui's code into Le Eyo's program. After a second, the computer flashed.

"New Looper Discovered. Name: Yui Ikari. Location: Universe Designated Evangelion. Status: Awake."

Ganesha stared at the screen. Zeus smiled smugly. "So, what was that Ganny?"

Ganesha grabbed Zeus and kissed him on the cheeks. "You genius! You genius! We must see this for ourselves!"

Ganesha dragged Zeus into the computer screen, and seconds later, they were falling into Evangelion.

-x-x-x-x-

Down in the holder dock of Unit One, Shinji Ikari was staring down at the nonsensical clock that ticked on his wrist. "Father should be here in five, one, eight..."

"Son."

"Hey jackass," Shinji said without missing a beat. The tone and wording did throw his Unawake father off track though, which was why Shinji had said it. Gendo adjusted his glasses and stared down at Shinji.

"Son, what you see before you is the Artificial Humanoid, Evangelion Unit One. You're going to ride in her."

"You want me to ride in mom's coffin. Whoop De Fucking Doo," Shinji pointed out nonchalantly. "Ya know Gendo, the Pilot's Plug is inserted into the nape of the neck. It's a long, hard rod of steel that's filled with blood to make it work, and allows me to control the, ostensibly, female robot. Oh, and the nape? It's erogenous in Japanese culture."

Gendo stared down at his son. Shinji chuckled. "So in a way, I'm getting more from Mom then you are."

Gendo's mind immediately began doing two things. The first was to furiously wonder how the behavioral analysts had ever missed such a thoroughly assertive and even aggressive personality in his son. The second was to ponder on how he could personally pilot Unit One at some point in the near future.

Shinji checked his still nonsensical watch as Zeus and Ganesha slowly descended next to him. "Hey Ganesha, hey Zeus," he said nonchalantly. "What's up?"

"Oh, we're here to check up on our newest Looper," Ganesha said cheerfully. Zeus grinned smugly as Shinji apparated away and returned with Kensuke, who promptly began fanboying over Zeus.

"There you go. One Kensuke Aida. No refunds or returns," Shinji said, a sarcastic edge dripping from his tone. Kensuke turned on Shinji be banged him on the head. "Worth it."

Kensuke shrugged. "Meh. Freedom to roam the multiverse, laying babes, fighting monsters, seeing cool hardware, and piloting my Eva. Definitely awesome."

"Hehehehe, well now that you mention it Kensuke, we're not really here... to see you," Ganesha admitted slowly. Shinji and Kensuke's confused looks were all the prompting Ganesha needed. "Watch."

Ganesha scaled Unit One as Rei walked over, a powerful healing factor repairing her damaged body. "Why is our Admin present in the Loop?" she queried.

Shinji stared as Ganesha banged on the covering of Unit One's Plug cradle. "Wait... no... it's impossible."

"What's impossible?" Kensuke asked.

"Ganesha might have gotten Yui Looping," Rei surmised in rapt fascination. That she was displaying the emotion so openly did demonstrate the intensity of it. Rei Ayanami, emotionless girl extraordinaire, was in shock.

Shinji shook his head, never removing his eyes. "No, that's impossible. It can't be... our luck is too-"

"Wooh, mighty stuffy in there," Yui Ikari said as she extracted herself from the Plug. "Well now, that was a capital adventure. Too bad it was cut short."

"MOM!" Shinji cried, bouncing up and down in glee. Yui leapt the whole of Unit One in a single bound, grabbing her son in a tight hug.

"Oh Shinji, Shinji, Shinji," Yui mumbled. Zeus looked at the woman who was slowly pulling her son into her body, him dissolving into blue LCL. "Shinji..."

"Huh," Ganesha said as she landed next to Zeus. "You'd think they'd do more than hug," the female Elephant deity said.

"Yup," Zeus admitted as Kensuke's head gently floated off his body. "You know, it's a bit odd. Like, one of those... Fun house... mirrors."

Zeus watched Yui absorb Shinji, and Kensuke's head float away. "Huh. Strange Variant."

"Yes, it is," Rei said, beaming.

Zeus choked. "Rei's smiling... Oh me... I'm in a dream!"

-x-x-x-x-

Zeus jolted up and stared at the fabric being waved in his face. "What is that?"

"Woman's miniskirt," Ganesha said. Shinji, Rei and Kensuke were nearby, staring at him.

Zeus grabbed the skirt. "Mine." Getting his feet under himself, Zeus raised the obvious question. "What happened?"

"You fell from the heavens and hit your head on Unit One's Horn on the way down," Kensuke answered, stuffing his camcorder into his Subspace Pocket. Blackmail was always good to have. "You've been muttering about LCL and Oedipal Complexes for the last five minutes."

"You didn't see anything," Zeus threatened. The innocent whistling he got in return helped his mood. Of course, he had missed the camcorder that Kensuke had been recording him with.

Ganesha spared a withering glance at Zeus before facing Shinji. "Shinji, I have amazing news. Stupendous news in fact."

"Is it 'I've found a way to make your Baseline less traumatic', and or 'I've found a way to bring Teri and Aki back from oblivion?' Shinji deadpanned. "Because if it isn't those two things, it really doesn't matter."

Ganesha smiled and threw an arm around Zeus' shoulders, the lightning and storm god smiling smugly. "Shinji, we have succeeded in getting Yui Looping."

"Hiuhhaha," Shinji gasped. Huhfufuh... ya... ya-Yu... Yui? As, as, as, as in my m-mom?" he stammered. Rei stared at Ganesha and Zeus, jaw locked in the downward. Kensuke was recording Shinji's flabbergasted reaction.

Ganesha nodded. "That is correct Mr Ikari. Your mother is wide Awake inside of Unit One." Ganesha stepped back along the gantry. "You can do the honors of giving Yui the speech."

Shinji leapt up and kissed Ganesha. "THANK YOU!" He rocketed by and up into the Entry Plug. "Come on, come on!" he shouted at the Bridge Bunnies high above.

Down on the gantry, Ritsuko and Misato, and a small army of Section Two agents, approached Ganesha and Zeus. "Excuse me, this is a restricted area. You two... should probably explain yourselves," Ritsuko said, still wondering why an elephant headed man and a man in a Greek toga had shown up in NERV's most sacred chambers.

Ganesha and Zeus stared at her. "Oh, we're gods. Don't really need an explanation," Zeus said, shining for a moment with divine light.

Up in the control room, Gendo watched impassively before opening a comms link to the floor. "You two... get out," he ordered coldly.

Zeus laughed out loud. "Right, no. You should be thanking me: I got your wife Looping. You'll be seeing her again momentarily."

Gendo glared at Zeus. "Get. Out." he repeated with greater force.

Zeus laughed out loud, and Ganesha rolled his eyes. "This guy... I l-love this prick," Zeus choked out.

"Commander Ikari does possess some comic value when he is not Awake," Rei conceded to her former Admin.

"He is fun to torment," Kensuke agreed. "I really can't wait to meet the Looping version though. I owe him for Toji."

"You know he isn't culpable-" Ganesha began. He was interrupted though. By Unit One.

"RRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Unit One screamed, shaking in the cage. The assembled humans and gods reeled as it shook the building. Up above, Sachiel's attack finally began, shaking even more of he building. Rei lunged, barely shoving Ritsuko and Misato out of the way of a falling I-beam.

Kensuke wasn't nearly so lucky.

Zeus and Ganesha stood their ground as Rei evacuated the gantry in front of the berserking Eva. "GANESHA WHAT DID YOU DO!?" Zeus shrieked over the noise.

"IT WASN'T ME!" Ganesha retorted as Unit One ripped an arm free from it's clamps. Zeus formed a lightning bolt and launched it, shocking Unit One's arm away. The storm god dropped a localized tornado on the clone of Lilith, occupying it. Ganesha pulled his own noose out and latched the machine down. "WHAT DID YOU DO!?"

Inside the Unit, Shinji screamed as his mind was struck by a dozen burning lances. 'What's happening... What's going on? Who are you...' It took Shinji a moment to realize that these were not his thoughts, and that they were not Yui's. They were Unit One's.

His mother wasn't there anymore.

But the machine was. And it felt fear.

Shinji screamed, not in agony, but grief.

-x-x-x-x-

"...Have you ever wondered about death?" Shinji asked.

"My mother is dead, I lost two children to these Loops, everyone I cared for either went insane or died, and by and large I'm the only girl in the Original Seven World's who's experienced mind rape in Baseline. Yes Shinji, I think about death," Asuka deadpanned.

Kaoru fixed Asuka with his own cold glare, before going back to holding Shinji as tightly as he could. The Loop had ticked over for Asuka, Kaoru, Shinji, Gendo and Misato rather unceremoniously, but Shinji, knowing his fellow teenagers like the back of his hand, had managed to pull both of them to the outskirts of Tokyo Three. There, he had informed them of what happened.

"Ganesha and Zeus used an activation program on my mother's soul. But instead of getting her Looping, the program corrupted her code. It infected Unit One with a glitch... a dreaming glitch. Yui... My mom... she's gone."

Shinji was sitting there, huddled on a bench in the middle of one of Tokyo Three's suburbs, Kaoru and Asuka standing over him. Asuka sighed gently as the moments passed. Kaoru pulled Shinji in tighter. Finally, above the long since forgotten drone of the Cicadas, Asuka broke the silence. "I'm sorry."

"...Why?"

"Because I couldn't be there to try and change what happened," Asuka answered.

"You couldn't change anything... no one can," Shinji said.

"It's nobody's fault," Kaoru consoled gently, carding a hand through Shinji's hair.

Asuka looked down at her pathetic, exhausted, grieving friend and closed her eyes, and thought back. Their world, Evangelion, was ancient. Stupendously so. They were the fourth universe to ever Loop: Shinji, the fifth being to Loop, and the fourth oldest after Ranma, Harry, and Naruto. They surpassed so many other worlds by sheer age.

Yet, for the longest time, all they had were each other, and Penpen, and the Ree. Six Loopers to an unfathomably, inconceivably ancient universe. It took an MLE to break the cycle: now they welcomed Misato, Kensuke, even Gendo into the Loops. After billions of years of stagnation, of loneliness, of isolation, they had seen a ray of light.

Yui's... corruption had been a reminder. Of the pain. The resignation. The fact that they existed in a greater world. Shinji and Asuka and Rei and Kaoru could, together, take on billions. They had fought together at Nyx Sparkle and Leman Russ' wedding. They had survived Amala. Seen Mitakihara destroyed and rebuilt. But here, hearing that Yui would never Loop was... it was a wake up call.

"Shinji, we're not... gods," Asuka said quietly. "We don't control our fates. We control ourselves, our power, but the Multiverse will spin on without us."

"You have no right to say that," Kaoru said.

"I do. Every soul does, because it's true," Asuka asserted. "We don't choose to Loop. We don't choose to have this responsibility, this gift and curse, placed upon us. We can only whether it."

Asuka kneeled down to Shinji and Kaoru's level. "The only way out is through Shinji. All we can do is wait."

Shinji did not look into Asuka's eyes for the longest time, and when he did, they were haunted. "Asuka... do you think you could tell Gendo that his wife, the woman he was willing to murder humanity for, will never join us in the Loops?"

Asuka inhaled, and exhaled slowly. "I can. Do you want me to?"

Shinji gently unfolded, uncurling from his position. "It has to be me. He'd only believe it if it came from me." After a moment, Shinji chuckled slightly. "I can't believe... after all this time, I've lost another woman in my life."

Kaoru pressed a hand into Shinji's shoulder. "We all have Shinji. We all have."

-x-x-x-x-

Gendo Ikari's office was a dark room. Fitting for the dark events that transpired within it. A large, empty space that existed to impose upon all who visited it that the man behind the desk was not to be trifled with in the slightest. It was horribly pretentious.

Gendo and Fuyutsuki had take their customary positions when Shinji entered the room, already both sensing the change in disposition in the Ikari heir. Gendo waved off his teacher, and watched as Kuzo left the room. "Shinji, I did not expect to see you here this early. Did something happen?"

Shinji tried to speak, but the words died on his tongue.

Gendo chuckled darkly. "I guess Rei must have gotten into the tequila again. It has been fun knowing you Shinji."

The sudden lack of response from Shinji was troublesome to Gendo. Shinji stared at his father, his mind driving itself into a brick wall. 'How do I tell him... how do I tell him...'

Gendo raised an eyebrow. "Shinji? ...Son?"

Shinji gulped, and began at the beginning. "There was an activation attempt with-" Shinji choked on his words. Gendo's eyes went wide.

"Shinji, what-"

"G-gone."

Father and son did not speak for far too long. Shinji tried to breathe as deeply as possible. Gendo didn't seem to need to breath.

"The Admins, they tried, wanted to... Activate Mother. They tried..." Shinji's head fell into his hands. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..."

Gendo tried to formulate a complex thought. "It was just an activation attempt. I mean, Yui can recover from that, can't she?"

Shinji curled in on himself. 'I don't want to be here...' "Mother's soul couldn't. It wasn't ready. They..."

'Please don't make me say this.'

"They think..."

'God... someone... please...'

"They think she'll never Loop."

Five words and the weight of the world fell on Shinji's shoulders. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Gendo sat there, still and immobile. Suddenly the lethargy broke. "Shinji I need you to tell me everything from the beginning right now."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

"Shinji I need you to-" Gendo caught himself mid sentence as Shinji just locked up. Gendo stared at Shinji's form, still as the dead. Shinji stared at nothing.

Shinji Ikari no longer felt sadness. He was angry: angry at the universe for taking his friends, his family, his children, his happy ending. He was angry at everything, because it wasn't fair. Because he alone had nothing that others did. He did not feel sorrow so often.

His son's pain was all the proof Gendo needed. Yui... was gone.

-x-x-x-x-

Neither knew how long they had sat there in grief. Alone, dead to all sensation. Shinji was silent. Gendo was sightless. All they did was stare and sob.

It was pain unbroken, as grief came to the two. They were the last of the Ikari's, and now they knew that Yui would never join their number. Shinji would have no mother. Gendo would have no wife. The pain was... incomprehensible.

"...Father..."

Henson buried his head in his hands as Shinji murmured his title. He didn't deserve to be a father, he didn't deserve to be Looping, he didn't deserve-

"Father."

Shinji stared at Gendo, a thought, half formed, flitting through his mind. Shinji tried again, desperately. "Father."

"Father, tell me about mother."

Gendo shuddered, still crying. "W...why? Why Shinji, why?"

"..." Shinji looked at his knees. "...So we can remember her."

Gendo hiccuped and choked on his words. "It'll hurt."

"Everything hurts. We've all lost something. We have all felt this pain. We still feel pain for the ones we love for a reason."

Gendo's teeth clacked against each other as he set his jaw, still shaking from his tears. "Why do we still feel that pain?"

"...To remind ourselves that these people are worth the pain."

The office of Gendo Ikari fell silent again. Shinji and Gendo could not speak. But now, grief mixed with reverence. In reverence, Gendo spoke. "I first met Yu... I first met Yui in college. We had enrolled in an advance Meta-Biology class. She... When I offered her my lunch, it was the first day we spoke..."

-x-x-x-x-

Grief doesn't disappear. It never does. You endure it, bury it, push it away. You try to drown it in happiness, and work to always forget that the very happiness you feel will never be as real as it was when what you grieve was with you.

Outside of Gendo's office, Asuka, Kaoru, and Misato were silent sentinels. The two ancient Loopers and their young companion had set up camp there when Shinji had gone in to break the news to Gendo. Asuka had appraised Misato of the situation, and only her and Kaoru's hasty insistence had stopped her from charging in and crying with the boy who had become her surrogate son.

Since then, no one had spoken. Misato, it seemed, mourned Yui's destruction. Kaoru had been thinking of ways to help Shinji and comfort him. Asuka...

Asuka was apart from either of them, staring into nothingness, and remembering a word, born of two voices she would not hear for eternity. 'Mama...'

Asuka Langley Soryu had carried and birthed two beautiful daughters, so long ago. Teri and Aki. They had been her's and Shinji's, which back then had made them Rei's and Kaoru's as well. Their memories had long since grown dim and indistinct, but the pain could feel so raw.

Better than any soul in the multiverse, better than the millions who had lost so much, Asuka knew the pain of Shinji and Gendo. She hated the pain, the agony. It was the foundation of her resolve though. Asuka would help them, yes, even Gendo. She hated the man who had driven their world to destruction, but she could never hate the man who now knew his wife would never join him in this strange purgatory of the Loops.

She saw too much of herself in Gendo to blindly hate him anymore.

Presently, the door to Gendo's office opened. Shinji stepped out, his eyes still red with tears, his heart still weak from grief. Instantly, he was enveloped in Misato and Kaoru's hug, dragged into their embrace to try and tell him he was not alone. Maybe he could know that now.

Asuka's hug was lighter, looser, but it understood him better. Shinji knew he wasn't alone. He had a confidant. A soul to which he could trust to bear his burden. It was comforting, to his heart. Asuka knew that.

Emerging from the darkness of his office, Gendo Ikari looked at the group, almost resigned. His resignation turned to shock though, when Kaoru and Asuka nearly leapt onto him, latching in for a more... obviously comforting hug. The man was beyond surprised, to say the least. Though... he was soon finding himself enjoying the hug.

Finally, the group disassembled itself, and the five Waking Loopers of Tokyo Three were standing apart from one another. Shinji sighed. "I guess... Thanks, you guys."

Kaoru pulled Shinji into a close, loving embrace. "We're here Shinji."

Asuka wrapped her arms around him. "Remember that."

Basking in the glow of each other, Shinji, Asuka and Kaoru were quiet. A hole remained though, for Rei. It was painful that she did not stand there, but fate is rarely so accommodating.

Apart from them, Misato glanced at Gendo. "We... miss something?"

"...We all do."

"You gonna be okay?"

"..."

"You're gonna be okay."

"You know that?"

"I know that."

Gendo glanced at Misato, who lightly smiled back. "Maybe... I will, Major."

"You will, commander. You will."

Everything will be alright.

* * *

13.6 – (krspaceT)

[Blue Exorcist]

It's noodly appendages stretched from the sea to the sky as Rin and Yukio found themselves staring down a ...something that vaguely resembled a noodle Cthulhu.

"...I've got nothing" Yukio admitted after studying the creature for a moment.

"Oh come on Yukio, your the know it all about demons, and what the hell could that thing be but a demon!" Rin complained as he reached for his sword.

"I don't think that's such a good idea Rin..." Yukio began before his brother unsheathed his sword and lunged at the monster.

"DIE DEMON!"

The blue flaming Rin flew at the noodle creature, only to be swatted away by a noddle and sent flying back, crashing into the ground by Yukio head first in the ground.

"Maybe you should try to eat it raw, as oppose to slice it up first." Yukio joked as Rin burst out of the ground with a blast of demonic fire.

"I will!" Rin shouted as Yukio looked horrified "Gate of Life, Open!"

As Rin opened the third gate, chakra and demonic flames merged into a powerful nova of energy surrounding him, as Rin's skin turned red.

"Prepare to be my dinner!" Rin leapt at the monster with all the power he had...

And reality shattered.

-x-x-x-x-

Rin and Yukio both crashed into the ground in their room just moments after Rin attempted to eat the flying spaghetti creature.

"Ow" Yukio complained as he pushed off the floor and glared at his brother "What did you freaking do...and why did I just get censored?"

"Next time, on Blue Shamans, Rick and Yale's first day at Triangle Academy, the training ground for the Order of Shamans. The brothers meet Sally, a young Gardner. Brought to you by 4Kids entertainment" a voice boomed like a TV announcer from the sky.

* * *

13.7 – (jxz)

[Selector Infected WIXOSS]

Tama looked at Tama.

Tama stared back.

Both Tamas looked at Ruko and Yuki.

"Tama wants Ruu!" One of them declared, making the other pout.

"Not fair! Tama wants Ruu!"

"Well, Tama gets Yuki! That's also good!"

"But it's not fair!"

"Yuki?" Ruko asked her usually second LRIG.

"Yes?"

"Why are there two Tamas?"

"I... really have no idea."

"Huh." Was all Ruko could answer, looking at the two white LRIGs fighting for who'd get Ruko later.

* * *

13.1 cont. – (Kris Overstreet)

"... and that's how the SOS Brigade began Looping," Kyon finished, taking a moment to polish off his third cup of tea.

During the telling his audience had quietly expanded from the three ancient Anchors sharing the table to every seat as far as three tables away. Dozens of Loopers remained silent, listening to learn more about the strange girl currently singing beautiful duets with Lina Inverse on the far side of the bar.

Harry Potter spoke for the rest of the Original Seven when he said, "Well, you certainly seem to be handling the Loops better than any of us did at first." Shinji and Ranma added their own emphatic nods.

Kyon shrugged. "Like I said, Looping through time isn't new to me. And it's nowhere near as strange as confronting a supertanker-sized cave cricket or playing fetch-quest with instructions from the distant future." After a moment he added, "Besides, my friends were there with me."

"And Haruhi," Shinji noted, in the same tone that many others had said And Zoidberg.

Kyon frowned. "As I said," he drawled, "my friends." Setting his cup down, he added, "I'd better go rescue Inverse from my brigade chief. Thanks for the tea."

"Er, one minute," Ranma said. "There's one thing I want to ask- well, two technically. How many Loops have you had so far?"

"Couple thousand, I think," Kyon replied. "Twenty or thirty crossover or Fused Loops in that, and a handful of Variants. Why?"

The three male O7 glanced meaningfully at each other. "Well... the thing is," Ranma said, hoping the subject would be less dangerous if he sneaked up on it, "about the thousandth or so Loop, there's a stage most of us went through... a lot of other Loopers go through it too, but with us early Loopers it was... well... normally we don't talk about it."

"Some of us acquired reputations that have taken forever to live down," Potter added, "even by Looper standards of forever."

"It seemed to occur to a lot of us," Ranma pressed on, having found his verbal point of ambush to be quicksand instead, "that, what with time repeating and everything, it was the perfect opportunity to... er... experiment." The eldest Looper, the most formidable martial artist in the histories of everything and everywhere and everywhen, actually pushed his index fingers together and blushed like a schoolboy. "Er, sexually. With, er, everyone, really."

"Like he said, we really, really don't like to talk about it," Shinji said, also blushing a little.

"And we were wondering," Ranma said, firm ground in sight at last, "if... you'd... er... had the same idea. And what happened."

Kyon didn't blush. His face went stony white instead. He stood up from his chair, leaning on it for support, looking fifty years older. "Never ask me that question again," he said, voice firm and solid, no hesitation, no opening for debate. Without another word he turned his back on the three elder Loopers and began making his way through the cluster of tables towards the karaoke machine.

* * *

13.1 – Story time at the local tavern.  
13.2 – I suppose we might as well go beyond the impossible too.  
13.3 – Nudist Teach, assemble!  
13.4 – The Monster of God vs The Monster of Manhattan. Fight!  
13.5 – Goodbye Yui, we hardly knew thee.  
13.6 – Silly Rin, The Flying Spaghetti Monster is 4Kids.  
13.7 – Every trading card collection has at least a few duplicates.  
13.1 cont. – Kyon doesn't kiss and tell. Otherwise Haruhi would kill him. Or worse: Mikuru might cry.


	14. Chapter 14

14.1 – (Saphroneth, Bliss Authority)

[Kill la Kill/MLP]

 _To whom it may concern,_

 _Activities in this Loop are considered to be restricted. This Loop is a safe zone. While it is permissible to enact pranks, and we all know the feeling of having accidentally escalated past the bounds of our plans, we ask that all care be taken to limit harm caused by pranks to property damage and that which is easily and completely fixed. Mental intrusion is not considered to be okay; nor is physical damage; nor is anything which would have a permanent affect in general._

 _Yours,_

 _Ivory Scroll (Mayor Mare)._

 _P.S. Prank Limit Enforced By Alicorn._

"Well, this place is better organized than some worlds," Ryuko commented, as she finished the letter and folded it back into the paper-crane shape it had arrived as. "You holding up okay, Senketsu?"

"Mostly," her uniform replied. "A dress, I can handle easily."

"It helps that they don't wear clothing much at all, here," Ryuko admitted. "I feel less... exposed. Hey, isn't this where Cheerilee is from?"

"Probably," her sister agreed. Her own kamui pulsed, then reshaped itself.

"...okay, I didn't even know you could make pony clothing do that," Ryuko said. "Seriously. That looks... well, good on you. But we might be arrested."

"I thought it through."

With that, Satsuki's outfit went quiescent again.

"He never says much," Satsuki said briskly. "Right, what now?"

"...hell if I know." Ryuko pointed, flaring her wings. "Look, a clothes shop. Might be where that... Rarity? Works?"

"Worth a try."

-x-x-x-x-

The white-coated, black-maned unicorn strode through the door of the Carousel Boutique with the tight-lipped expression of somepony - or someone - who did not gladly suffer a waste of time. At first glance Rarity thought she might have been military from her uniform: a closer look at it clarified that it was inspired by a Japanese boy's school uniform, but cut and modified for a sleeker look.

Interesting.

Rarity bowed (as best as a quadruped could, which involved craning her neck down). "Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic, sleek, and magnifique. My name is—"

"Rarity Belle," the unicorn cut her off. "One of the elite five guardians of this world, as led by the example of Twilight Sparkle. Enforcer of this Loop's status as a sanctuary to all who respect its tranquility." The stranger reared up on her hind legs, towering over Rarity, and resting her fetlock on the hilt of a sheathed katana. "Peerless in the crafts of war, peace, and tailoring - this last of great personal interest to me." And her expression curled upward, if only a little bit.

Rarity frowned. "I believe you have me at a severe disadvantage, darling. How did you know I was Looping? And what, pray tell, is your name?"

"My Loop memories tell me that I am named Pure Cloth," the stranger said. "But you may remember me by another name. Satsuki Kiryuin."

It took Rarity a second to remember. "From the Loops with the living clothes!"

"Just so," Satsuki said, a very slight smile on her lips. "You will forgive me if I wasn't displaying my usual composure, but you have to understand that meeting you as — how does my sister put it — "Disco Mom, Winner of the Gendo Ikari Lifetime Achievement Award for Parenting" She paused to allow Rarity time to titter. "— was not doing my mental state a favor."

Rarity waved her off. "It happens all the time, dear," she said. "Now, what may I do for you?"

"Prevent untold suffering in my Loops," Satsuki said, betraying no emotion save a twitch of one great bushy eyebrow in the prefix to a frown. "By redesigning the Goku Uniforms so they need not rely on Life Fibers. We will need our source of Honnouji's titanic power to be shot through with threads of an alien lifeform that thirsts for blood, and is in thrall to a dark God."

Rarity managed a weak chuckle. "I can see that as a bit of a design flaw."

Satsuki looked directly into Rarity's eyes. "My Goku Uniforms are very much double-edged swords. It is past time I corrected that. Too many of my fellows in too many Loops have died when the Life Fibers in their uniforms betrayed them."

Rarity nodded. "I will see what I can do."

Satsuki nodded. "Without even asking for payment..." she stopped, and closed her eyes, to float in a suitcase and snap it open; it contained several paper rolls of gold bits. "As to be expected from a paragon of Generosity. Take your time," she said, her expression shifting to a fierce smile. "You have until the Loop resets."

Ragyo Kiryuin had to admire the suddenness of Satsuki's betrayal, but she had known it was inevitable and planned for it. Still, there was no way that her daughter could plan for Mind Stitching - or for the Life Fibers of the Peerless Uniforms to turn against their masters with a snap of her fingers, a feat she could manage even while bisected and crucified. It was sort of a shame that such a beautiful flower as her daughter needed to be trimmed when the First Life Fiber awoken, but she would not cry for her.

Wait. It hadn't worked. Ragyo snarled and snapped her fingers again.

"Third time is the charm! Charming charming charming~!" Nui said. (As for how she heard the tilde, she hadn't. Nui was standing under a word balloon as she spoke. Ragyo didn't question it; she was unnerving, but she was loyal. The perfect daughter.)

"Oh, and by the way. Dear mother." Satsuki smiled. "I'm now certain that you didn't notice, but the Ultimate Uniforms no longer rely on your tainted gifts," she said. "Thank you very much for bringing me the other half of the Rending Scissors, Nui. ELITE FOUR! TAKE THEM!"

"AT ONCE, MILADY!" Gamagoori screamed, as was his wont. "THREE-DIAMOND ULTIMATE UNIFORM, SHACKLE REGALIA MARK TWO!"

Wait. Three DIAMOND? Ragyo's eyes went wide as she realized just how badly she had been outplayed.

"So this is the power of a Three Diamond uniform," Aikuro said. "Made entirely by the power of human ingenuity. It is almost as fearsome as the powers of the Nudists."

Ryūko snorted, swallowing a bite of her Mystery Croquette. "Wouldn't say it's HUMAN ingenuity, 'zactly. We called in some help from a friend."

Aikuro raised an eyebrow at her. (And peeled off half of his shirt, but it WAS Aikuro.) "Anyone I would know?"

"Depends. Were you Awake when Disco-Mom was really into purple and green?" Kory said, grinning.

* * *

14.2 – (Me)

[Code Geass}

It was to his eternal shame that one Lelouch Vi Britannia would later recall that his introduction to awareness of the Eternal Loops lasted a grand total of thirty seconds. Of course he would justify this frequently due to the unfortunate fact that his starting point occurred in the back of an out of control vehicle in the middle of a high speed chase through the Shinjiku ghettos moments before said vehicle came to an extremely unplanned stop.

Upon taking his last breath at the end of the Zero Requiem he fully expected his last sight to be Nunnaly brokenheartedly sobbing over his dying body, or at least find himself facing some form of eternal judgment. Therefore it came as no small surprise that in the space between heartbeats he found himself going from lying on his back as he bled to death before his beloved younger sister's eyes to standing in the middle of a wildly heaving truck as its injured driver hit part of a collapsed building, and it jerked violently as it barely maintained its balance.

The same could not be said of Lelouch.

Thus the 99th Emperor of the Britannian Empire, Zero the Maker of Miracles, Lelouch Vi Britannia who destroyed the world to create it anew... died from a strike to the head due to poor footing.

* * *

14.3 – (DrTempo)

[Evangelion/Undertale]

Gendo Ikari Awakened, and as usual, looked through his Loop Memories. Instead of a son, he had a daughter. "Why Yui named her Frisk, I have no idea," Gendo said to himself. Soon enough, his daughter arrived, wearing the purple shirt he remembered giving to her as a birthday gift.

Looking around, Frisk asked, "So...let me guess. Get in the giant robot?"

Gendo looked surprised, and Frisk replied with, A: friend of mine loves mecha anime. Anime in general, actually. All right, then. Let's do this."

Misato walked over to Frisk, asking, "Are you sure about this?" Frisk gave thumbs up.

"Don't worry. I have the Determination to see this through. And Dad, wish me luck."

Gendo said, "May fate be on your side."

Through this, and all this Loop will throw at you. Jut to be safe, I suppose I should destroy Lilith to make sure.

As the Eva prepared to launch, Frisk was thinking, 'Undyne'd love to be in this role, I'm sure. I'll have quite a story to tell Toriel when we meet again. I fear for Gendo if they ever meet though…'

* * *

14.4 – (Chronopie)

[Gurren Lagann]

Simon knew it was going to be a weird Loop when he Woke up, surfing the wave of pigmoles towards the ceiling over Jiha village.

It didn't really help that Nia, with single-colored, light blue hair and pink eyes, was hugging the pigmole for dear life right behind his leg. It meant there'd been a role shuffle. Of course, this one was already better than the time Viral and Kamina had swapped places. Viral insisting that Simon call him Bro was just weird.

He didn't get any reply pings when he sent one out, either. That meant a solo run.

It was, at least, still Yoko to drop through the ceiling in pursuit of the Gunmen. He'd needed a shot Brain Bleach in Eden Hall after the Loop where it was Kittan, and still in the same outfit.

Wait, did that mean that he was supposed to romance Yoko this Loop? Kamina would kill him!

So after escaping the Gunmen (he could've taken the Gunmen out with a blood drill, but he didn't want to break from the Loop so soon.), Simon let Yoko take the shot that Kamina would have interrupted. Not that it mattered. Leeron hadn't upgraded her rifle yet.

So Nia lead them to the 'Face' that she'd uncovered. It was blue and white, and rather more rounded than Simon's normal Lagann.

"Solvernia." Simon said. It did look an awful lot like the head of her Tengan Toppa Solvernia that she had in the movie Variant, of course without the blue and yellow mane of Spiral Energy.

Simon only hoped that the Gurren equivalent wouldn't be too feminine.

Simon wasn't Kamina. No, he was Simon, not his bro. That being said, he'd heard Kamina's speeches often enough that he still managed to convince Kittan of the Bachika siblings that they should go out and get their own Gunmen.

Viral, on the other hand, was a much more difficult fight. Simon was used to fighting with a drill. That meant thrusting strikes, and little lateral movement. Kamina had always been the one to fight with the ridiculously long sword, and he made it look good. Simon looked like he barely knew how to hold it. So much so, that he was glad that Nia broke up the fight when she did.

He did put up a better fight when it came to mech-to-mech combat though, back in his natural element. Enough to hold his own, but not so well that people got suspicious.

He still stole Enki's helm.

Adiane had swapped with Thymilph this Loop. Oh, she still had Sayrune, her personal mech, but she commanded the Dai-Gunzan, rather than the Dai-Gunkai.

Yoko didn't give him the Kiss of Death, luckily. Even if the upcoming fight didn't kill him, Kamina would.

Even so, Simon barely avoided getting skewered by Sayrune's tail. It also didn't change the fact that he 'created' the Giga Drill Breaker to deal with her. It also meant that Rossiu wouldn't get to drive. But Simon didn't mind.

Without the Solvernia vomiting, (and Simon still didn't know what that vomit actually was), he had to engineer an excuse to jump down the ravine. So when the horse-headed Gunmen showed up, he jumped on it with both feet. Literally.

He kicked the Gunmen into the canyon.

It was what Kamina would do.

When Nia unlocked the Drill-lock, the chest opened to reveal Kamina. With Blue-and-Yellow hair, and bright cyan eyes with a red gothic cross in the middle.

He was, as always, shirtless, but, this time, had a blue cape, rather than his normal red, and a thin layer of light blue chest hair in the shape of a spiral. He also had a blue set of his normal triangle shades. He was also the same age as Simon, rather than Nia.

He sat up, stretched, and said. "Hail fellows, well met."

"Hail fellows?" Nia asked. Simon was dumbfounded. That was so, so... UnKamina.

"And who are you, good lady?" He asked.

"Ah... I don't think I'm anyone important enough to be called 'good lady'."

Kamina looked around. "Oh, this is the outside I've heard so much about. And this is... Rain?" He got up and out of the box. "And this is... mud? It's cold and damp and squishy."

"Are you alright without shoes?" Nia asked.

"I'm fine." He replied. He got right up in Nia's face. "Why do you look like me? No tail, no fangs, or fur, nor claw or scale?"

Nia laughed. Her voice tinkled in the air. "I'm a human silly, that's normal."

"A human? And what, exactly, is a human?"

As Nia tried explain humanity to Kamina, Simon wondered at the differences this would make to the timeline. Anti-Spiral Kamina? That was an odd thought.

The Dai-Gurren crew rolled out the welcoming feast that was supposed to pass for an interrogation. The combination of Kamina's natural charisma, ham tendencies, and what seemed to be genuine ignorance, had them eating out of his hand.

But before long, Thymilph brought the Dai-Gunkai to the Dai-Gurren, and landed the Byakou right on their deck.

Kamina rushed out on deck and stopped not ten feet away.

"Stand down Thymilph! First Prince Kamina, son of the Spiral King Lord Genome, orders you!" Arms spread wide, he glared at the Gunmen. "I will not permit you to do violence upon these people!"

Thymilph took a moment to talk to his beastmen on the Dai-Gunkai.

Then he began laughing. "Aha, aha, ahahahahahaa... Oh, Prince Kamina, haven't you heard? Your Father threw you away. Like a Piece. Of. Trash. You can die with the rest of the trash on board."

It was only the fact that Simon was ready for a possible movie Variant, where Cytomander and Guame could show up any minute, that let him intercept Byakou's spear in time. Like hell was he letting Kamina die so easily.

As it happened, this wasn't a movie Variant, meaning that Cytomander and Guame were handled over the next month, rather than all at once.

The Beach Day had the otherwise 'sheltered' Kamina in a Speedo. It reminded Simon of the Bathhouse incident honestly. Yoko and Leeron had stars in their eyes. Thankfully, though, Nia was indifferent.

The major change here was that they'd already dealt with Thymilph, so they didn't get ambushed in the water.

Simon never got bored of seeing the Dai-Gurren kick the Dai-Gunten, and it did let them grab the Levia-sphere too.

But the biggest change of the Loop so far came after Kamina insisted on speaking to Lord Genome personally, when they reached Teppelin.

As Simon and Nia confronted Viral in the Enkidudu (Not to be confused with the original Enki or the Enkidu - this was the four armed version), Kamina stepped out to face Lord Genome personally.

Not that Viral lasted long. No beastman, immortal or otherwise, would ever be able to match a human that had unlocked their Spiral power.

"Kamina."

"It has been a long time, Father."

"You're looking quite well. You do know I never expected to see you again."

Kamina stalked towards Lord Genome's throne. "I'd just like to know, why do you drive the humans underground, and exterminate them when they reach the surface. It seems like a cruel and heartless act, so unlike the man I know."

"Ignorance is such a frightening thing. You truly believe you fight on the side of righteousness, but I am the one protecting this world. It is I, Lord Genome, who am the ultimate guardian of humanity."

"By killing your charges?"

"This path is the only one that ensures Humanities survival. Your friends have strayed from the path, and for the whole of Humanities sake, cannot be allowed to live."

A thin, whip-like drill lashed out, only for Simon to block it.

"The Spiral Power is strong within them. But such power will lead to destruction. Allow me to teach you." His throne sunk down, and into the floor. "As you know, they are not the only ones to possess Spiral Power."

The Lazengann rose to the floor's level. Kamina dashed to the wall, blue Spiral Energy wreathing his legs, as Lord Genome's personal Gunmen leapt high.

The Gurren-Solvernia and the Lazengann were evenly matched. Punch for Punch, Drill for Drill. Despite the fact that both Simon and Nia were channeling Spiral Energy into their mech, Lord Genome seemed more powerful than normal too.

In the end, their arms broke, and their drills shattered.

Lord Genome tore the way out of his own cockpit, "I shouldn't have trusted a Gunmen to get the job done!" His head blazing with his signature red Spiral Energy, he strode towards the crippled Gurren Solvernia.

Only for Kamina to stand in his way.

"Kamina."

"Father."

They threw simultaneous punches, each hitting the other in the face, sending both backwards. They got up and resumed the fistfight, bodyblows and jabs making meaty thuds, uppercuts rocking jaws. Blue Spiral Energy met Red as fist met fist.

They locked hands, pitting their strength against one another. "We can protect humanity together."

Lord Genome knocked Kamina back. "I've haven't this much fun in months."

"I knew I was your favorite son."

"Show me your Spiral Power son, make me proud!"

With a straight lunge, Kamina's fist connected dead center with the spiraling hair on Lord Genome's chest. Blue Spiral Energy burst from his back, and he was sent tumbling backwards, until he slammed into the wall.

"I see. Your Spiral Power has grown to match my own." He chuckled. "Maybe you're right, my son. Perhaps we should try it your way."

Simon reflected on just how weird it was. Lord Genome had survived the battle of Teppelin. He stepped down as ruler, though, and was content to serve as an adviser to the new Teppelin council.

And so he passed on the message of the Anti-Spiral's ultimatum personally. And for the next seven years, between Simon's out-of-Loop knowledge, and Lord Genome's own knowledge of the world before the Beastmen, they managed an even greater level of technology than normal.

With the repaired Lazengann, they had two flight-capable Gunmen specifically designed to counter the Mugann, and, between Lord Genome and Simon, two pilots that knew all about the Mugann's explosive tendencies.

Rossiu, whom still had a place on the council of course, had no reason to arrest Simon and Nia, nor Lord Genome.

Kamina didn't turn out to be the Anti-Spiral Messenger, thankfully. It actually turned out to be one of Lord Genome's daughters, Kamina's sister for the Loop. Simon had known that Lord Genome kept a harem, but he'd never actually followed up on that train of thought...

Lord Genome, on the other hand, was pissed. The Anti-Spirals dared take one of his children? Kamina was spitting nails too.

When the Cathedral Terra activated, they still launched the Arc-Gurren.

Then Lord Genome revealed the secret of Teppelin Tower. It was actually the Dai-Gun Dekabutsu!

The rest of the Loop played out pretty much Baseline, with Nia in the lead role. The Arc-Gurren Solvernia taking over the Cathedral Terra to form the Choginga Dai-Gurren, though Lord Genome could have used Dekabutsu to the same effect, the Galactic Spiral Abyss, which Simon preferred to call the Sea of Despair, full of dead and drained Lagann-type mecha, and Kittan's ultimate sacrifice, before finally the multi-dimensional labyrinth.

Using the necklace worn by Lord Genome's daughter, Team Dai-Gurren made their way to the Anti-Spiral space, and each member, using the Lagann-types from the Sea of Despair, combined with the Choginga Dai-Gurren Solvernia to form the Tengan Toppa Gurren Solvernia.

Nia started. "Even when trapped by karma's cycle.."

Next was Yoko. "The dreams we left behind will open the door!"

Leeron got in on the action: "Even if the universe stands in our way..."

Lord Genome wasn't left out: "Souls once drowned in a sea of despair, reawaken!"

Then Viral: "Our burning blood will determine what will be!"

Kamina was never going to be silent: "Using our power to cut through Fate!"

Simon: "We'll break through time and space!"

They all came together: "And defy all who would stop us to grab hold of our path!"

And then back to Nia: "Tengen Toppa Gurren Solvernia!"

"JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE?!"

The Anti-Spiral mech combined two galaxies to form their ultimate attack.

"Infinity Big Bang Stoorrmm!" It brought the beam to bear. "Burn in the everlasting hellfire of creation!"

"Not yet, we're not done!" Nia cried.

"Nia!" Lord Genome yelled. "Leave this one to me." The Lazengann tore it's way out of the Tengan Toppa Gurren Solvernia, and caught the beam.

"Father!" Kamina yelled.

"Do not grieve for me, my son. I waited a thousand years for my revenge. If my sacrifice can create a tomorrow for all Spiral Life then I will gladly give it."

"Your Sacrifice will be for nothing!" The Anti Spirals yelled, as they intensified the beam.

"That's what I was waiting for!" Lord Genome countered, as he turned his essence, his very being into Spiral Energy, absorbing and redirecting the Anti-Spiral attack with it. "Nia, take it!"

"He allowed himself to undergo quantum breakdown to become one with the energy?!"

"Eat this!" Nia screamed, as she brought a fresh drill to bear.

"Never!"

It was drill to drill combat, until, finally, the Granzeboma brought out extra drill directly from the homeworld on the crest of it's head, catching the Tengan Toppa Gurren Solvernia. In reply, it released the Choginga Dai-Gurren Solvernia, then the Arc-Gurren Solvernia, then the Gurren Solvernia in turn.

As the drills looked set to pierce the Gurren Solvernia too, the Dekabutsu Lazengann, piloted by Kamina, smashed through them from beneath the Gurren Solvernia.

"My father was a shining example of the potential of humanity, how can I be any less?!"

"Solvernia. Impact!"

As the crowds died down, Kamina, still in his blue cape and triangle glasses, turned to Simon, winked, and sent out a ping, before walking into the sunset. Then the Loop ended.

"Kamina?"

* * *

14.5 – (Tabac Iberez)

[Girls und Panzer/Warhammer 40k]

Sitting down at his comfortable table he had commissioned some time ago, Leman Russ cracked his neck and started doing his least favorite part of being a Primarch.

Paperwork. Reams and reams and reams of paperwork.

That said, some time ago Leman had been introduced to a couple of very important inventions. Specifically, the typewriter and linotype press. One made excellent correspondence, while the other made excellent duplicate copies, as necessary for the fact that there were so, so, so many duplicate copies needed. Incidentally, as Inquisitors and other aggravating people had figured out over the years, challenging a Primarch on the little matter of a mechanical device was a really stupid idea. Leman prized them for their clear, easy to read print and versatility.

At no point in time did this make it easier to read what was contained in the message. Specifically, it was a junior Sister of Battle requesting support in an out-of-the way place. More specifically, it was absolutely dripping with the secret code he had commissioned so that Looper correspondence could get to where it was going in the Imperium in the first place. One too many Loops had been crashed because Leman or another Anchor had been doing something stupid or necessary or both and couldn't get what they needed. Thankfully, he had a few billion printed up and distributed to Celestia so that Loopers could get in touch without getting hung up on a million and two things. Rolling his shoulders, Leman got up from the desk and started heading to the armory. This was going to be a fun one...

Arriving on what could only be described as somewhere far far away, Leman looked around. The demonic infestation was fairly well in hand, but the Sisters of Battle commander was looking nervously for him. Going up to her, he introduced himself, removing his helm.

"Leman Russ. So, you're the Looper?"

She nodded restlessly, and looked around carefully. "Miho Nishizumi. And yes, very new Looper. I've sorta been rolling with it, but this Loop makes no sense!"

A painfully brief explanation followed. "Alright then, Miho. Welcome to the Imperium of Man. Forty thousand years of chaos, bloodshed, and darkness. Then we started Looping, and now it's a chance to fix everything that went wrong. Our mission here is to throw a light into the darkness, so that it will light the Loops ahead. The trick is getting the light up to where we can throw it. Unfortunately, most of that job involves killing the ever-loving crap that's stopping us."

Miho nodded. "I get that, I hope. Well, it makes me feel better, so I can actually get my head in the game, now. Thanks, Leman."

Leman just smiled. "We get an unusually high number of Loops with Equestria, so I hope we meet next there. Does your Loop have a focus?"

Shrugging, Miho blinked. "Well, we have a sport composed of tank battling that is considered feminine and attractive, and we have sea ships that are bigger than they should be according to the Looper who saw them."

"I'll meet you there, someday. Until then, Miho."

"Until then."

After Leman returned to the Wolves' command pavilion, he got scans of the battle from the orbiting Navy units, and whistled. Miho had mentioned getting her head in the game, and she had still conducted a masterful battle- far above and beyond the normal hash the Sister's commanders made. Leman's opinion was that the rejuve rotted their minds, but that was here nor there. For a second, he was afraid where this young woman's talent would place her.

Fifty years later, Leman snorted. Miho had died "under mysterious circumstances." He had paid her his due, by having her remains buried in the seas of Fenris. As much a head as she had for battle, Leman hoped like hell she could learn the arts politic. Although, if she did, Miho Nishizumi would be a frightening friend and foe indeed.

* * *

14.6 – (Harosata)

[Assassination Classroom]

"I'll be frank. Your job is to cook him."

"...Eh?"

Karasuma frowned, but he had to bear with it. "Technically, we're trying to kill him before he destroys the Earth, but in addition to teaching this classroom, he insists that he wants to be served as food."

"I can regenerate my tentacles, so I am a never ending food source you can practice on, but ultimately, I want you to prepare me like the main course of a five-star restaurant." Koro-Sensei grinned as he basted himself. They did very well in the school festival with ingredients picked exclusively from the mountain, so he figured he'd focus on teaching them everything food-related in this Loop. Of course, Koro-Sensei needed to remember not to allow Home Economics as a tentacle-handicap for the summer assassination.

Kayano just had to ask. "Sir, what do tentacles even taste like?"

* * *

14.7 – (Leviticus Wilkes)

[Negima!]

Asuna Kagurazaka stared at the potion in Negi's hands. "Negi-san... As the only other person involved in this time loop business, I'm in the unique position to tell you that we both know the future. Why are you still making that love potion?"

Negi Springfield looked at the vial of love potion in his hands. "Well, it's a complicated potion and I need the experience. This helps."

"After all the trouble it caused?" Asuna shook her head. "It turned half the class into raving shotacons, and it made Ayaka even worse than normal. And... Why bring it here?"

The pair had met up for the afternoon homeroom of class 2-A, Negi planning to finish his English lesson. The ten year old teacher shrugged in response, a concise answer, all things considered. "Well, it's a more powerful version of the usual love potion and I was pretty proud of making it. I wanted to show you."

"You're insane Negi." Asuna shook her head. "That's ridiculous. How would I know what a good potion looks like? And besides, you're a boy teaching a class of girls: how is a love potion not going to backfire?"

"Oh it's not like I'm going to drink it," Negi chirped. At that moment, Haruna Saotome walked by and tripped Negi by accident. The chibi Sensei fell over, the bottle arcing through the air, and landing neck first in his mouth.

Asuna watched in banal horror as Negi involuntarily gulped down the potion. "Negi-san, 'I told you so' doesn't cover it."

Negi stood back up, gasping a bit. "Well... This is going to go very bad."

A hush fell over the room, and Negi became acutely aware of how many eyes were now on him. "Very... Very... Bad."

Konoka literally threw herself into the chalkboard. "MARRY ME NEGI-SENSEI!"

A moment later, Setsuna Sakurazaki crashed into the board. "NO, MARRY ME!"

Evangeline McDowell was flying straight at Negi. "NEGI-KUN, I WANT TO SUCK YOUR-"

That one was stopped by a dog pile. Another girl came forward. "Negi-Sensei, I have developed ovaries. Please marry me."

Negi stared for a moment. "Wait... Wait, are you a robot?"

"Yes," Chachamaru Karakuri answered.

A ribbon wrapped around Chachamaru and she was instantly replaced by Makie Sasaki, with a cake. "I baked this for you in home economics Negi-Sensei."

At this point there was a physical torrent of girls running at Negi, which then devolved into a full scale brawl with gunfire, lasers, windmill shuriken, explosions, and cries of "FOR NEGI-SENSEI!"

Asuna leaned in close to Negi. "You, er, want to run now?"

"I think so, yeah. I might be able to pacify them though."

"You won't. You really-"

"EVERYONE STOP FIGHTING!" A short, fairly unassuming girl was standing in a desk in the middle of the brawl. The full scale war (and probable international incident) that was breaking out ground to a halt. A few questions were raised as the girls recognized Nodoka Miyazaki as the speaker. Nodoka flinched as the class turned to her. "Uh... Hi."

Negi turned to Asuna. "You know, they may be addled by the love potion, but at least Nodoka has her integrity."

"You should all be ashamed of yourselves," Nodoka declared boldly. "We shouldn't be fighting over Negi-Sensei. We should be sharing him."

"Huh?" Negi said.

"I propose Saishoudoukin."

For a few moments everyone just lay there blinking at Nodoka. Negi ran the world through his brain. "Sai (wife) shou (mistress) dou (same) kin (bed)!? You want a threesome!?"

"Technically this is an orgy," Nodoka corrected him. "GRAB HIM! WE'LL HAVE OUR WAY WITH HIM IN SHIFTS!"

"Now run?" Asuna asked.

"Run." Negi declared.

Most of the girls were mounting the horse that Ayaka had smuggled in as the duo ran like hell. "COME BACK! WE WANT OUR STUDMUFFIN!"

* * *

14.8 – (wildrook)

[Cowboy Bebop/Firefly]

"Time Loops, huh?" Spike Spiegel asked Malcolm Reynolds, who had just introduced himself to the Bounty Hunter. "And I'm replacing one of your crew. My apologies."

"Don't," Malcolm replied. "Sometimes you get the benefit of being part of it thanks to Fused Loop potential. Besides, unless you start trouble, I won't be forced to kick you out."

Spike nodded as he looked at the area. "Nice ship, though. Doubt I can fit my own one-man cruiser in this thing, but if it flies, it's okay in my book." That, and he really didn't want to argue with the engineer. "So, who am I replacing?"

"Our resident preacher, Shepherd Book."

Spike blinked. "Yeah, I know, you never expect the guy replacing a man of God to have a bit of a backstory of his own. There a story behind that?"

He gave Malcolm a look, then sighed. "I'm an ex-hitman of the Red Dragon Syndicate. Had to fake my own death in order to get out of it, managed to make the mistake of falling in love with my ex-best friend's girlfriend, and my own crew consists of an ex-cop, a Welsh Corgi that can hack into signals that lead into the brain, a woman from the time before interstellar travel, and a fourteen-year-old girl who dresses like a boy that's also a hacker. And no, I've no interest for the Bounty if I can't use it in my...own Branch of the tree."

That was all Malcolm needed to hear. "Which means it's safe for you and your sister to come out, Doc," he said, looking up, much to Spike's surprise. A young man in a doctor's outfit with a young woman with long hair and bare feet following behind as they walked down the stairs.

Spike blinked. "Now I'm tempted to ask why you went to me first," he said.

"Well, we already took out the Alliance member that was on the ship," Malcolm replied, "but the girl mentioned something about a...space cowboy, so I had to check it out for myself."

"Captain," Simon interjected, "I think he may need the full truth. Heck, I'm surprised to meet a Bounty Hunter that doesn't think about his wallet."

The Captain of the Serenity just sat down. "Simon, we've been over this," he said. "As long as you and your sister are Awake, you can call me Mal. And you don't need my permission to explain to Spike about the people hunting your sister down."

Spike didn't even bother to look surprised at that. "I take it you're not just dealing with Bounty Hunters?" he asked the two.

"And the occasional moron who decides to try to get some extra pocket change," Simon replied, remembering the incident at Ariel. "What we're up against, however, are government officials known as the Blue Sun, and they're after River because she found the darkest secret the Alliance kept under lock and key."

"Miranda," River said, making herself known.

Spike blinked. "That would warrant a bounty," he replied, "but I'm not looking for cash."

"Probably the wisest thing you can do," a voice replied. A burly man with a beard and sweatshirt came down. "From what I can remember, these guys aren't just looking to kill them, but also target anyone who's even MET them. Namely, the whole crew."

"Guy's talking from experience," Malcolm replied. "What brings you down here, Jayne?"

Jayne then smirked. "Just meeting our Guest Looper," he said. "Despite the appearance, if the guy's ex-mafia, he's probably a fighter."

"Maybe," Spike replied, "but my friend, Jet, was more of the muscle between the two of us...and the pilot." He then looked at Simon and River. "I know you guys have been through this before, but if this 'Miranda' is causing people to hunt for you two, then I might need the full story."

"We've still got a copy of the file," Simon said to Malcolm.

Malcolm nodded. "The Alliance isn't the only thing that you watch out for in the galaxy," he said. "You're about to learn the origin of beings that, if you're lucky, kill you, violate you, and use your skin as clothing, in that order."

"We call them Reavers," River said, "and they originated from Miranda."

Spike knew he made the right decision by not going for the bounty. Considering his own dark past, whatever made River nervous would traumatize him, but to be targeted for finding a dark secret, even by accident, was too much for his taste.

"Is she..." Spike asked Simon.

"She's fine," the ship's Doctor replied. "We keep a back-up copy each when River's first activated. The file's connected to her abilities, so she's usually...less twitchy."

"And that's the nice explanation," Jayne said, prompting a glare from Simon. "Just saying."

Spike then gave Malcolm a look and nodded. "Show me the video," he said.

After that unpleasant discovery, Spike shook his head.

"No wonder they wanted to keep it a secret," he said. "This kind of information would shatter the Alliance from within."

"That's exactly what Book said when he started to Loop," a man with red hair said on the seat, accompanied by a dark-toned woman who sat next to him. "Imagine our surprise when he decided to tell us about his past profession."

Spike gave the man a look. "Profession?" he asked him.

"What Wash meant was that Book's old career wasn't exactly...enlightening," the woman replied. "Heck, it explained how he knew the Alliance inside and out..."

"It does explain why he knows how to use a gun, Zoe," Jayne replied. "The kneecaps, I think, was cathartic to him, despite being a holy man."

Malcolm chuckled. "Wish I could have seen it, despite being tortured and all..." he said.

"And losing an ear," Zoe replied, making Spike give her a look. "Long story, but let's just say that we've had a run-in with a torturer who got mad that we didn't do our job..."

Spike cringed. He was familiar with the method, but the guy they were referring to sounds like his ex-friend, Vicious, preferring his victims to suffer instead of outright slitting throats.

"What was the job?" Spike asked them.

"Stealing his own medicine from a train," a red-headed woman replied, walking in, "leaving the sick without defense."

Simon cringed. "Another reason why I prefer the Sick Bay here to the Med-Labs in the Alliance," he said. "I prefer helping others, not prolonging their deaths, Kaylee."

Kaylee nodded as she looked at the others. "Let me guess, the video from Miranda?" There were multiple nods. "I can never get used to that...the Alliance creating the Reavers."

"One of the reasons why we aim to misbehave when the Alliance is at its worst," Mal replied.

Spike had to admit, the crew was pretty close to each other. "If this is supposed to be some well-kept secret," he said, "why bring an outsider in?"

"The Serenity's the only safe haven for Guest Loopers when the Alliance is in power," a voice replied, revealing a woman in a rather...ornate getup. "Even if there are...disagreements..."

"Oh yeah," Simon muttered. "The Doctor's encounter with the Blue Suns."

Now Spike was confused. "Doctor...who?"

"Just the Doctor," Malcolm replied. "And Inara, despite his psychotic hatred of guns, we've seen River talk openly with him."

Inara just sat down. "And you'll meet him sometime in the future," she said to Spike. "Spike, was it? Make yourself at home. Did Malcolm fill you in the one rule when entering the Serenity?"

Spike nodded. "Never betray any of his crewmates or else they get sucked out the airlock," he said. "Don't worry, I've no intention of breaking that rule. Heck, if you guys can fill me in on the Alliance and how they work, I'd like to be a part of whatever you guys are planning this time."

The crew looked at each other...but someone else made herself known.

"Could be dangerous," River said to Spike. "Then again, we're a bunch of cowboys ourselves, aren't we?"

"And cowgirls," Kaylee replied. "Nice to see you're not...twitchy."

"I've been coping."

Jayne then looked at Spike. "Well, this is the first time we've had an ex-mobster on the Serenity...why not make the most of it?"

Malcolm looked at the others...then smiled. "Welcome to the crew, Space Cowboy."

Spike gave out a smirk. "Same to you, Captain Reynolds," he said, making his signature finger gun pose. 'Bang.'

* * *

14.9 – (XeroM52)

[Familiar of Zero/Skullgirls]

After so many Loops, Louise already knew how to perform magic and not cause an explosion that blew up on her face. Still, she had to keep up appearances and screw up her spells since being able to perform flawless magic overnight would rise a lot of alarms in people's heads.

Once again she was performing her summoning ritual, wondering what would come up next. Would it be Saito? Or would it be some crazy Looper from across the universe? As the cloud of dust formed by the explosion of her spell casting cleared off, she got her answer in the form of a gigantic man wearing a trench coat straight out of a detective story.

"Huh? This is certainly weird." Said the mountain of a man said in a very suave voice in English.

"Sir, are you 'Awake'?" Louise asked in perfect English making the rest of the class look at her weirdly. "Don't worry about the rest of them, they can't understand what we are saying."

The giant man nodded. "Are you the local Anchor?"

"Yes," Louise confirmed. "Sorry for hurrying you along, but we need to complete the Summoning ceremony or people would start talking…" she said apologetically.

"Your Loop, your rules. You are the expert here." The man said. "So how does this summoning ceremony is completed?"

"We need to kiss." Louise answered bluntly.

"Sorry, kid. But I'm probably three times your age." He refused.

"Age is kind of an illusion, once you are in the Loops." She pointed out. "Besides, this is a necessary step if we wish to carry on with the Loop."

"Are you sure about this?" He questioned a little uncomfortable.

"Like you said, I'm the expert. Also this isn't the first time I had to kiss an old man or a weirdo." One could only imagine what kind of people the Loops threw her way.

"Just get this over with…"

"My name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière." Louise said in her mother tongue. "Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers; grant your blessings upon this being, and make it my familiar." With a small hand way, she indicated him to bend down to her level and planted a kiss to mark him as her familiar.

"My name is Louise by the way." She introduced herself, knowing that he now could understand her. "What should I call you?"

"Call me, Big Band."

Louise couldn't help but sigh at the scene playing in front of her. It seemed that Guiche was destined to 'duel' with every familiar she had ever summoned. All because everyone somehow managed to expose him as the two-timing bastard he was at the beginning of the Loop.

"Let us begin our duel, commoner!" Guiche taunted, not feeling intimidated by Big Band's 7'8" (2.37 meters) frame.

"Kid, you don't want what you are asking for." Big Band looked at the slender boy who didn't look like he could stand a good punch to the face. "Just turn away and apologize for your behavior!"

"As if! I'll teach you to show respect to your betters!" Guiche waved his rose from which petals fell to the ground summoning his bronze Valkyrie golems. "Go my Valkyrie, show this commoner his place!" Guiche wasn't worried about his opponent's size since he had magic on his side.

Big Band looked at the incoming golem with its sword ready to attack, frankly he wasn't all that impressed. In fact he remained still as the attack came. "Now!" then at the last second before the sword even hit, BB summoned a cymbal that parried the attack completely by transforming the force behind the attack into wave vibrations.

"What?!" Guiche shouted, surprised that his golem attack had no effect whatsoever.

"I'm not done!" The from beneath his coat, BB released a gigantic punch the size of a small car and obliterated the golem to pieces. Quicker than his size would imply, BB then rushed towards Guiche gave him a hard look in the eye. "Now Listen here…"

"What…?" Guiche asked frightened doing his best not to soil his pants.

"To this!" Big Band then summoned two metallic arms and trapped Guiche inside a giant Bell, which he started ringing. After he was done, the blond noble was on the floor in a very dazed state." Hear that ringin'? Recess is over! Now clean up your act!" BB said before he marched away leaving the rest of the students who witnessed the duel completely dumbfounded.

"Was it really necessary to be that rough?" Louise asked to her giant familiar.

"Rough? I thought I was being soft as smooth jazz."

Louise couldn't help but groan. "You and your music puns!"

It was the day of the exhibition of familiars, and Louise looked more confident than ever. Sure, Big Band would have to compete against more majestic familiars like Tabitha's dragon, but what BB lacked in looks, he made up in sheer musical talent.

I mean, who could beat a man that was literally a One-Man-Band?

Besides, his Jazzy tunes were something out of this world. Literally, since Jazz wasn't a music genre that existed on her world.

"You were great, BB!" Louise cheered for her familiar as the both of them walked away from the exhibition grounds. "The judges, specially the princess, loved your music!"

"It is nice to just kick back and play up a tune every now and them." Big Band said slightly elated. He may not have shown it, but he was a little nervous of performing his jazz to a public that never heard of it before. "That trophy would look good in your room."

"What are you talking about? You were the one on stage, the trophy is all yours!"

"Thanks, Kid."

Suddenly the ground started trembling and when a shadow fell upon the both of them Big Band and Louise looked up to see a massive rock golem.

"Looks like you are out of luck!" The golem's creator, Fouqet of the Crumbling Earth said as she rode on top of the massive head of her golem.

Ignoring her for a second, Big Band turned to look down at his pink haired 'master'. "Did you forget to tell me anything?"

"Oops. Kinda slip out of my mind." After so many Loops, Fouqet wasn't even a challenge anymore, so she would frequently forgot to stop her before her attack at the school.

"Sloppy notes are what ruin good melodies, kid." BB said.

"I told you to stop it with the music puns and allegories!" Frankly, they were getting really old by now.

Big Band just turned his head away and pretended he didn't hear her. "You! Whoever you are!" BB said to Foquet. "Dead or alive you are coming with me!"

"Ha! What do you hope to achieve against a golem of this size!" Foquet mocked.

"This!" Then Big Band unleashed a flurry of punches to fast that he even left after images.

"TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA!TUBA! TUBA!

It didn't need to be said but the giant golem ended up as a pile of dust on the floor.

"What? What are you?!" Foquet screamed frightened by the power of this strange summon.

"The name's Big Band! And I just showed you the full extent of the Jam!"

* * *

14.10 – (The_One_Butcher)

[Haruhi Suzumiya]

"I am John... No wait." He rummages in his pockets and pulls out an ID: "I am Kyourosuke Takamichi.", he reads from it, "I'm just a normal dude. No funny business here. But, if you see anything strange, I'm interested."

After Haruhi made her usual speech he muttered, "No wizards?", just loud enough so Haruhi could hear it. He then scrunched his face up into a grumpy expression.

Of course that got him cornered pretty soon.

"Hey! What kind of suspicious guy are you? What is your real name?"

He regarded her with a cool gaze. "Kyourosuke Takamichi. And who are you to meddle in my affairs? Don't you know I'm subtle and quick to anger?"

She grinned "Yeah, Yeah You're a wizard, I get it. What can you do?"

"Absolutely nothing. No Mana. So let's make a deal. You let me mooch of your power and I'll teach you magic."

"My Power? What Power? Am I a Medium or something? Will this weaken me or shorten my lifespan?"

He snorted. "Come on, I could feel the power rolling off you from miles away. You're at least a fourth Circle Demon. Your lifespan is 'Yes.'"

Haruhi raised an eyebrow. "Demon? I'm supposed to be a Demon? I guess my reputation precedes me, but I am in no way an evil spirit, that was all hard work and elbow grease!"

"So you don't know any magic? Then maybe you are some kind of lower circle Demon, one or two that has some strange mutation that causes Mana to leak from you? Maybe a defense mechanism to make demon hunters reconsider? Can I tap you? It won't do any harm."

Haruhi disbelieved him. But said "Sure" and held out her hand. He put his on her head. Only to jump back in alarm and yelp.

He looked at her in complete Horror. "Milady. I will not ever try to harm you or in any way divulge any of your secrets. I wouldn't ever presume that anyone managed to trick you, but in case of that infinitesimal chance: You are a Twelfth Circle Archdemon. Someone has Blasphemously sealed your power, probably out of some misguided fear you would use it to destroy the world. But how one could do that... I have no idea. The only way to do it would be the cooperation of another user of the Twelfth Circle. Preposterous. The only other explanation would be if someone tricked you into drawing a high powered magical sigil and empowering it with your own essence. However you'd have surely noticed drawing a two hundred foot diagram. I have actually some designs for that."

He pulled out a notebook and showed her some very familiar sketches.

* * *

14.11 – (lord Martiya)

[Lupin III/Winx]

"It's impossible..." Faragonda said, still in shock. "Nobody can do that!"

"Actually, we likely know a way..." Icy pointed out. "But it wouldn't be so easy."

"He didn't even use magic..." Flora said, surprised. In all her Loops she still had yet to see that one.

"That's what he does: the impossible." Zenigata pointed out. "Oy, Lupin! You proved you can, now give it back, or at least give it to Fujiko! It's not a nice sight!"

Lupin laughed, continuing to fly thanks to the stolen Dragonfire while dressed in Bloom's outfit.

* * *

14.12 – (Zero Exceed)

[Akame Ga Kill]

This was a weird situation for Tatsumi, to say the very least. The last thing he remembered was heading to his room to go to sleep after talking to Akame, and then, he suddenly wound up walking down a dirt road in some random area. In fact, it actually seemed to be the exact same road he'd been traveling on from before he had reached the Capital and met Night Raid. Normally, he would have thought this was impossible and that he was just hallucinating, but a quick check of his belongings, as well as a sharp pinch on his arm, had quickly proven that this was, in fact, real. When he discovered this, he decided to keep walking down the road, seeing as how, if his suspicions and memory were correct, this road would eventually lead him to the Capital.

Soon, he came across the exact same situation that he had come across on his original trip to the Capital, with the same two merchants, and the very same Earth Dragon that he had slain so long ago. This immediately dispelled any doubts in his mind about his theory. There was no way that someone could have perfectly replicated every detail of this situation. The only explanation that Tatsumi could conceivably think of to explain everything that was going on was that he was truly in the past.

Now, normally, someone would find this to be completely impossible, and would most likely attempt to deny the very possibility of it. Tatsumi, however, was not one of those people. He did find it extremely hard to believe, but, when he remembered everything he'd dealt with ever since he had first joined Night Raid, it definitely seemed like time travel could be possible. After all, he'd fought against and with all kinds of different people, with several of these allies and enemies each in possession of some kind of powerful weapon that allowed them to perform amazing feats. Heck, he'd fought against a sadistic, sociopathic woman who could literally make the surrounding area so cold that time itself froze in place. Considering that little tidbit of information, he seriously doubted time travel was a complete impossibility.

Tatsumi quickly shook his head and rushed towards the dragon. He would have plenty of time on the way to the Capital to think, but right now, he had a Danger Beast to slay.

-x-x-x-x-

"Get out of here!" Tatsumi was, once again, thrown out of the Imperial Army recruitment office, except this time, it had been on purpose.

Just as he'd assumed, he had plenty of time to think while the grateful merchants he'd saved brought him to the Capital. He had used this time to figure a few things out and make plans for the future, like he believed any reasonable person stuck in a situation like his would do. The first thing he figured out was that, despite the fact that he was in the past, Incursio was still with him, and still merging with him. This had become abundantly clear to him during his fight with the Earth Dragon, seeing as how it was much easier than it should have been. The ride had merely allowed him the time and privacy necessary to confirm this fact by looking through his bag to see if Incursio's sealed form was there, as well as checking to see if his body was still trying to change into that of Tyrant's. For some reason, though, it seemed that much of the progress Incursio had made in turning him into Tyrant had been reversed. This meant that, whatever had sent him back in time, it most likely wasn't caused by an enemy.

Second, Tatsumi had decided that he would completely disregard the timeline once he met Leone. Oh, he knew that changing too much could end up being a problem, but he really didn't care. This was a chance to change things for the better, to save the friends he'd made in Night Raid so that they could see the fall of the Empire, and the creation of the new world that they had been striving towards. He did know that he needed to stick to the timeline just long enough to meet Leone, however, that way he had a way into Night Raid. Hence why he made sure to get himself kicked out of the recruitment office.

"Well, it looks like you could use a hand."

Tatsumi turned his head to see the exact person he'd been waiting for. Leone was exactly as he remembered her. Short blonde hair, golden eyes, an easygoing grin, and a body that could tempt any man who looked her way. Even now, after all the time he'd spent around her, Tatsumi was still amazed at just how beautiful she was.

Tatsumi quickly snapped himself out of those thoughts. He needed to remember why he was doing this. He had to make sure Leone brought Night Raid to Aria's mansion tonight, that way he could show them that he had what it took to join them. He could have easily just waited for them to show up at the mansion tomorrow night like they did in the original timeline, but he wanted to see if it was possible to save Sayo and Ieyasu if he sped things up a little bit.

Tatsumi gave a small grin and said, "Actually, there's something I want to talk to you about..."

-x-x-x-x-

Later, Tatsumi was once again looking out the window of the mansion of Aria's family. After he finished talking to Leone, he made sure to recreate the events that lead to Aria taking him to her mansion and having her parents lend him a room for the night. It really wasn't that hard to do, seeing as how he had plenty of experience with acting thanks to his time with Night Raid. Now, all he had to do was wait for the right moment to strike.

As soon as he was certain it was time, Tatsumi grabbed his sword and started towards the door to his room. However, before he could leave the room, he found himself being drawn toward his traveling bags. Hesitantly, he opened up his bag and pulled out an object wrapped in black cloth. Partially unwrapping it, Tatsumi gazed at the sealed form of what was both his greatest weapon, and the cause of his rapidly approaching demise.

Taking a few moments to think about it, Tatsumi wrapped Incursio's sealed form back up, then he strapped it to his back alongside his normal blade. After all, it was best to keep it with him at all times, in case of emergency. He doubted he would actually end up needing it for what he was about to do, but better safe than sorry.

Once again walking to the door, Tatsumi took a calming breath as he placed his hand on the knob. He began to slowly open the door, taking care not to make to much noise. Once it was open, he took a quick look around to see if there were any guards nearby. He spotted two, and as soon as he did, he stepped out of the room, grabbed the hilt of his blade, and prepared to slaughter each and every one of the corrupt vermin living here, along with the guards who would dare to protect such filth.

With this in mind, Tatsumi gained a savage glint in his eyes and voiced a single thought. "Well, then. I guess it's time to get to work."

* * *

14.1 - You Men in pony clothing! (followup to 4.5)  
14.2 - C.C must never know. The world is not ready for that level of snark.  
14.3 - Instrumentality Route.  
14.4 - Looks like Kamina's expanding his acting repertoire to include other skills beside HAM.  
14.5 - Grimdark vs Moe: A fight 40k years in the making.  
14.6 - Food poisoning is a valuable tool in any good assassin's toolkit.  
14.7 - For a teacher, Negi sure does seem to have problems learning from history.  
14.8 - Well, it can't be any crazier than life on the Bebop. Right? Right?  
14.9 - If they hurry, Reconquista might have time to write the dirge Big Band plays at their funerals.  
14.10 - Insanity: convincing the goddess of your world that she's an archdemon. What could go wrong?  
14.11 - He probably could have done it without the crossdressing, but the reactions are half the fun.  
14.12 - What's the rush Blacksmith? You've got all the time in the world. And then some.


	15. Chapter 15

15.1 - (Harosata)

[Assassination Classroom]

Koro-Sensei destroyed the world.

Koro-Sensei was sent to another world.

But Koro-Sensei realized this was not the world with those girls. In fact, he couldn't see a school.

But he did see four little creatures in strange suits that have television sets in their bellies. "I've seen stranger."

Then he looked up at the baby-sun. "Okay, that is strange. Oh well, I guess I can turn this into an educational opportunity."

* * *

15.2 – (Harry Leferts)

[Girls und Panzer/Jurassic World]

Since the Loops had begun, Miho had come across some odd Variants and fusions. As she stared out across the field at the opposing team and blinked, she realized that this was going to be one of those Loops. "I... Are those _dinosaurs_ over there?"

Saori looked up at her with a confused expression. "Er, yes? They're the team from Isla Nublar Girl's School. Most of the students there are dinosaurs."

Blinking, Miho reviewed her Loop Memories and then sighed. According to them, more then a decade before, dinosaurs had been revived by some man named John Hammond and were discovered to be sapient. After some time, they received the same rights as any humans and Hammond opened the Isla Nublar Girl's School for the female saurians while the males went to the Isla Sorna Boy's School.

None of which helped her as she sent out a Ping and got a series of answering ones in return. "I was just wondering how they fit into the tanks is all. They must be cramped."

Nodding, Saori looked back toward the opposing team. "I guess... Especially in the case of that T-Rex."

It was all Miho could do not to facefault at the sight of a T-Rex, who her memories recognized as "Captain Roxanne" of "Carnosaur Team" waving a sword. It was not helped by the group of four Raptors in the same tank looking at her with grins. "... Yeah, I'm not going to ask about that."

A glance at another opposing team caused her to stare due to it being a mixed crew. There were two of those duck billed dinosaurs (Ducky and Polymnia her memories told her), a Triceratops named Cera, and two humans called Jess and Claire. For several moments all was quiet before someone commented on it. "This is going to be a weird battle..."

Miho only nodded. "Yup."

* * *

15.3 – (Saphroneth)

[Gurren Lagann/MLP]

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!" A pegasus stallion with a sunglasses-wearing flame for a cutie mark drummed his hooves on the floor. "Come on, people, where's the action?"

"Er, Kamina?" A similar-looking unicorn with a drill for a mark said. "We only just got here, and… it might be kind of impolite."

"Ah, I gotcha." Kamina shook his head. "Still, there better be something soon. Besides, Simon, have you _ever_ had a quiet Loop?"

"Now you mention it…" the second pony grinned. "No, not at all."

"And at least you're not taller than me this time…" Kamina mused.

"I am." Simon pointed. "Look. This horn thing puts me about half an inch taller than you are."

"Doesn't count." Kamina shook his head.

"How can it not count? It has a spiral pattern!"

"In that case," Kamina spread his wings. "Gotcha now!"

Simon grinned again, and held up a hoof. "You always win."

"You know it, bro!"

There was a skidding sound.

"Hi, new ponies!" Pinkie Pie said, beaming, as she halted in front of them. "What Loop are you from?"

"Only the most awesome Loop in the history of time!" Kamina and Simon shouted together, having rehearsed.

A blue blur resolved itself into Rainbow Dash. "Did I hear somepony mention the word awesome?"

"Sure did!" Kamina looked her over. "I like the cut of your jib, fellow flying horse thing."

"Pegasus," Dash answered easily. "What's a jib?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to say I don't know that one." Kamina looked over at his fellow Looper. "Simon?"

"Something something ships," that unicorn deadpanned.

"Fair enough."

"Hey, guys!"

They turned, seeing an earth pony galloping towards them.

"I thought it was you!" the earth pony said, as she slowed to a stop in front of them. "Hi, other Loopers. I'm Yoko Littner, and I'm the one who keeps these two doofs out of trouble."

"How does that relate to a rifle?" Dash asked, looking at her cutie mark.

"That's because she uses the rifle to cause trouble that she then keeps _us_ out of," Simon joked.

A flash of light and a cloud of smoke erupted twenty feet away.

"Trixie… senses… awesomeness!"

Celestia stood on the balcony of the library next to Twilight, and together they watched a giant robot get into a fist fight with the moon.

"What is this, I don't even…"

Twilight shrugged helplessly. "Hiccup did warn me about those two, but apparently he understated the case. It doesn't help that they and Yoko managed to meet the three most compatible personalities our world has to offer, of course." Especially when that seemed to have got the Elements working somehow.

Celestia gave a slightly stunned nod. "Every time I think I am used to the infinite variety of the universe, something like this happens."

* * *

15.4 – (Leviticus Wilkes)

[Evangelion/Billy and Mandy]

Gendo was passed wondering where it had all gone wrong.

When his son had arrived at Tokyo 3, his scenario was in the midst of fruition. Once William Ikari boarded Unit One, Awakening Yui's infernal resting place, Gendo knew... no, he hadn't known, he had foolishly _believed_ that his planned scenario could not possible fail. William was a spectacularly stupid boy, one so easily manipulable that he simply needed to suggest the wrong course of action, and he would follow it.

But as the days passed... and then the months passed... everything began, ever so slowly, to fray. The tenth angel was defeated all too quickly. That damnable Kaji learned too much of his plan. The thirteenth angel was slain without so much of a scratch to the fourth child. The fifth child... Gendo had never wished such a terrible fate on any living creature, not even Adam. And now, in the midst of Third Impact, where William was supposed to use Rei's offer to wish everything back, to bring back his precious Yui along with all the dead and undo his suffering...

The words echoed in his mind. _'Hmmm... I want everything to be ORANGE!'_

And Rei/Lilith/Adam granted William's wish, and began turning everything into Orange LCL.

Gendo could feel his consciousness fraying, his fear's dimming into humanity. But a single thought cracked through his mind like a gunshot and tore from his lips in a desperate plea.

"PLEASE! ANYTHING BUT THIS! I ONLY WANTED TO SEE MY WIFE AGAIN! ANYTHING BUT WILLIAM'S DAMN FANTASIES! ANYONE, PLEASE! I'LL DO ANYTHING! JUST LET ME SEE MY WIFE AGAIN!"

But there was no miraculous divine intervention. No great savior arrived. Gendo and all of humanity... was doomed to live in Billy Ikari's stupid fantasy world.

Gendo gasped.

"Sir, the third angel is approaching." Makoto turned from the screen. "Should we prepare defenses?"

Gendo stared at Makoto. "I... I... I remember..."

Gendo remembered _everything_.

* * *

15.5 – (Firehawk242)

[Hellsing/Winx]

Flora sat in Eden Hall looking around for a familiar face. She thought she knew a lot of Loopers, but she didn't see anyone she knew.

"Boo," a voice came from behind her. Flora jumped and turned.

"Seras?" Flora said.

"Of course," the blonde vampire said. "How are you?"

"I'm doing well," Flora said with a smile. "Do you want to sit down?"

"Sure," Seras said, taking the seat across from Flora. "So, what have you been up to?"

"Well, another person from my Loop started Looping," Flora said. "She's not having an easy time adjusting, but she'll get there."

"Keep an eye on her," Seras said. "The Loops don't need another Sakura."

"I'm more worried about Setsuna Syndrome," Flora said. "She really likes Baseline."

"Watch out for that too," Seras said. "So, aside from that, how are you doing?"

"The usual," Flora said. "I had a nice Hub Loop with my friends, Techna's looking into building Zords to go with her Morpher, nothing particularly special."

"That sounds nice," Seras said. There was a moment of silence as Seras frowned. "Hey, Flora, something I don't think I ever asked. What's your last name?"

"My last name?" Flora asked in surprise. "Well it's-" She cut off, her eyes widening in shock. "It's- It's-"

"Something wrong?" Seras asked.

Flora looked at Seras with fear in her eyes. "Seras. I can't remember my last name. I know I have one, but I can't remember what it is. Why can't I remember my own last name?"

"Calm down," Seras said. "You can't remember your last name. Can you remember anyone's last name? Anyone from your Loop?"

"...no," Flora said. "I can't. They should have last names. I know they have last names. Why can't I remember any of them?"

"It's possible they were lost," Seras said. "Yggdrasil's taken a lot of damage. They could have been lost in the event that started the Loops. They could also have been lost in the Crash."

"I... I guess," Flora said. "I can't remember my own last name."

"Flora..." Seras said. "You know I consider you my sister, right?"

"Yeah, you told me," Flora said. "Thank you for that, but..."

"Flora, if you'd like..." Seras began. "You could use my last name until you find your own."

Flora blinked. "You'd really let me do that?"

"You're my sister," Seras said. "And Flora Victoria does have a nice ring to it."

"I guess it does," Flora said. "If you're okay with this... I think I'd like that. I won't use it all the time, but when I'm out of my home Loop, Flora Victoria it is."

"Wonderful," Seras said. She went over to the bar and came back with two glasses. She handed one to Flora, then raised her own. "To family."

"To family," Flora said.

* * *

15.6 – (lord Martiya)

[Lupin III/Fate Stay]

"Run that by me again?" Gilgamesh asked to the man who had just interrupted his fated encounter with Saber.

"I am inspector Zenigata, ICPO. The famous thief Lupin III has announced he'll steal everything from the Gates of Babylon." the man replied.

"Good man, I, the King of Heroes, commend your dedication to duty, but let me tell you that this Lupin will fail: it is impossible to steal from the Gates of Babylon."

"Lupin has a habit of stealing what's supposed to be impossible to steal."

"Very well, we shall check. But first, I will verify you're not him in disguise."

"Better check them t-"

The Gates of Babylon spontaneously opened, and a large truck appeared from them. A large truck driven by Lupin and carrying his accomplices.

"Too late, Pops!" Lupin shouted.

A horrified Gilgamesh looked inside the Gates and screamed: "They stole everything!"

"Not everything, we drunk all the wine then and there!" Jigen replied.

Zenigata whistled, and an army of squad cars arrived so he could give chase, leaving behind the Servant of the Sword, the King of Heroes (who was crying like a little girl), and Shirou, who couldn't help but ask: "Who had the bright idea to make them into Loopers?"

Then Fujiko emerged from the Gates, stole Gilgamesh' armor, earrings and even his wallet, and left on her bike.

* * *

15.7 – (Leviticus Wilkes)

[Negima!]

Evangeline McDowell flipped midair and crash landed on a bridge outside of Mahora Academy, dangerously close to the borders of the magical seal that locked her inside of the school. At this range she could feel the sealing spell at her back, but it didn't matter to her: her magic was still intact, as long the school's power was down.

The vampiric woman-girl glared daggers at her opponent, Negi Springfield, touched down gently on the bridge. Her sour expression deepened when his partner, Asuna, arrived. "Well, I guess you two feel pretty proud of having driven me to the city limits." Raw magical energy built in her hands, just in time for her partner, Chachamaru, to touch down. "You shouldn't have backed this bat into a corner! Lic Lac Lilac-"

Her incantation was interrupted when a water balloon smacked Chachamaru in the face.

For a moment neither the immortal vampire queen nor the custom magitek robot girl could articulate a response to that. Chachamaru vacuum sucked a fragment of the out gassing material from around her oral port (she licked her lips). "Analyzing compound. Nepeta Catarina. Thunnus Thynnus. Assorted chemicals and fragrances, with magical scenting water."

"...You hit Chachamaru-"

"With a puree of catnip and tuna!" Negi declared boldly. "You've lost Eva-san: we've immobilized your partner, and the magical seal is due to return any minute!"

"...Idiot!" Eva shrieked. "YOU DIDN'T DEFEAT CHACHAMARU, YOU JUST GOT HER COVERED IN GUNK! AND IT REEKS! CHACHAMARU, ATTACK!"

"Yes mistress," the robotic girl answered. The ports on her shoulder blades opened, her back rockets spooling up as her clockwork body readied to fight. All of these processes ground to a halt when a low rumbling rose up from the city, an ethereal wailing accompanying it. Chachamaru felt no fear, as she was a robot. She did determine that this would require her to check for an update to her orders. "Mistress, what is-"

A mass of black, white, brown and orange emerged from the city, raving across the bridge with the fury and direction of the possessed spirits of hell. Chachamaru's retinal processors couldn't fully correlate the shapes to any known pattern before Evangeline answered the question of what they were seeing. "CATS?"

Asuna laughed lightly. "We knew that Chachamaru loved cats. So we figured that she wouldn't dare hurt them, even if they were right on top of her. That potion: tuna, catnip, and a little something Negi whipped up to tell every cat in the city where it was."

Chachamaru was unable to articulate a response, as at that moment a living tsunami of kitties jumped her and cat-piled her. It took a moment for Chachamaru to confirm that nothing short of some level of lethal force would be able to disentangle the felines from her frame. "Mistress, I have been incapacitated."

Evangeline snarled. "You have got to be-" Further comment was prevented by Asuna sucker punching the vampire.

Negi walked up next to the immobilized Chachamaru as Asuna demonstrated to Evangeline why it was a really really bad idea to threaten his class. "Hi Chachamaru. Sorry about the cats."

The cats were now purring incessantly on top of Chachamaru, which was actually doing wonders to help circulate her oil. The robot girl made no effort to stand. "I don't mind."

* * *

15.8 - (OracleMask)

[Soul Eater/Ace Attorney]

The downside of Awakening at random times in his Baseline, Phoenix found, was that meant he sometimes Awoke too late to head off the worse cases he'd had to face in his Baseline. Contending for the top spots on that list was Mia's murder and the Engarde case, but there was another certain person Phoenix tried to avoid seeing in court if he could help it: one Prosecutor Manfred von Karma.

But sadly, he'd Awoken this time just before entering court on the first day of Edgeworth's trial. Phoenix took a look at the Court Record and was glad to see his Unawake self had gotten the right pieces of evidence ready. But it was still depressing to hear the Unawake Edgeworth calling von Karma a 'god' of prosecuting.

"Not only will he do anything to get a guilty verdict," the man continued, "His fearsome skills usually end trials on the first day. They have never lasted for more than two."

Huh? That was new...and ominous...

"What do you mean, the trials never last more than two days?" Phoenix asked.

"It means what I said. On top of forty years of 'Guilty' verdicts," Edgeworth explained, "No defense has ever managed to keep the trial going more than two days. Manfred von Karma is a man to be feared."

Yeah, that explained everything...not. This sounded like one of those nasty Variant Loops. While they were being ushered into the courtroom, Phoenix wondered what sort of evil plots or plans were in store for him this time.

-x-x-x-x-

As it turned out, the answer was a lot more simple.

"Err...is the prosecution ready?" the Judge asked.

The small white figure perched on the prosecutor's desk abruptly pointed his matching white cane at the Judge. Well...the ruffles on the collar matched those of the regular von Karma, but otherwise there was no way you could mistake this guy for a fearsome prosecutor.

"FOOL!"

"Wh-What?!"

"My legend dates back to the Twelfth Century! That was a long time ago, you know. So naturally I have prepared well in advance for this trial. Do you understand?"

"O...of course!"

' _...And yet, he's not the strangest person I've ever faced in this court_ ,' Phoenix sighed.

-x-x-x-x-

"Now then, Ms. Hart -"

"OBJECTION!"

Phoenix nearly bit his tongue as 'Manfred von Karma' interrupted him before he could even ask his question. ...For the tenth time today.

"What? What now?!" Phoenix protested.

"You were about to ask how the prints of the defendant's right hand got onto a gun held by a left-handed individual, were you not?" von Karma said, sounding a bit smug.

"Wait, Mr. von Karma! Does that mean you know how it was done?!" the Judge exclaimed.

"It's quite basic actually, perhaps the simplest of tricks there is. True it may not seem so simple from an ordinary person's point of view, some people may even consider it a baffling, utterly perplexing problem. Things will often appear complicated on the outside while in truth they are simplicity itself. Of course how one sees these things depends on the person, many people find there is a fine line separating the complex to the very simple."

"I see, I see," said the Judge, nodding, "That does make sense."

Phoenix wasn't sure who was making less sense at the moment, the Judge or the 'von Karma' currently spinning around like a top.

-x-x-x-x-

Somehow, despite all the interference, Phoenix had dragged this trial kicking and screaming into the second day. Phoenix could see perfectly why this version of von Karma usually never had trials last this long.

' _Even the best attorneys must have given up just so they could get away from this guy's craziness!_ '

And somehow he had to get them to the _third_ day and prove this 'von Karma' guilty for DL-6...some Loops, it didn't pay to be the multiverse's personal whipping boy.

...Actually, how _would_ this version of Manfred von Karma have done it? Phoenix usually had to finger the bullet still buried in the man's shoulder to prove he murdered Gregory Edgeworth. But this guy...he was too short for that! This could be a big problem...

Still, once Yanni Yogi was on the stand, Phoenix began prodding at the man's 'forgotten' identity like normal -

"OBJECTION!"

"Wha- huh?! What now?!"

"Is there something you wish to prove, Mr. Wright?" von Karma chided him, "Then don't skip ahead! One must take time to think! Rushing forward without considering things beforehand is the height of foolishness. Ahh yes, that reminds of of another time when I had to consider things, that case was long ago but I remember it still. It was back when I still hung my hat on Bakers St. and called it home."

"...Isn't that Sherlock Holmes...?" Phoenix protested.

"And you wish to link these two cases now? And prove that this man before us is the culprit in both this and a certain other case?"

'von Karma' swung back and forth from making terrifying amounts of sense to making none at all so fast that Phoenix was afraid he was going to get whiplash. But he couldn't be confused for long, not when this guy was giving him such a perfect opening!

"Err, yes! Yes, that is exactly the defense's position!" Phoenix declared, pointing dramatically, "This witness is -"

"FOOL!"

There was a long, tense moment of silence. Which started dragging on when no one broke it.

"...Mr. von Karma?" the Judge hesitantly asked when von Karma made no move to speak or even lower his cane for two whole minutes.

"FOOL! A dramatic pause is required before an announcement of this importance is made!"

"R-Right! Forgive me!"

"The prosecution's position is this, Mr. Wright," von Karma continued, "That the catching and condemning of criminals is a task for the prosecution alone! Therefore I am glad to inform you that -"

The cane whipped around to point at Yanni Yogi.

"This man is the culprit! That's right! This man is the brother of the girl who went missing 10 years ago and the author of this terribly tragic tale of revenge and murder."

' _What?_ '

Yanni Yogi abruptly dropped his brain-damaged old man routine to gasp in horror.

"Damn you, von Karma! How did you find me out?! My plans were perfect!"

' _...What?!_ '

"My legend dates back to the Twelfth Century. This means that I knew in advance that the killer was you! Now, Judge, declare a verdict on this witness! Immediately!"

"Of course!"

The Judge immediately banged his gavel.

"In this case, the court finds the witness...GUILTY!"

' _...WHAT._ '

-x-x-x-x-

"And that is the tale of how my glorious record in court remained unbroken!"

"A fascinating tale indeed," Edgeworth replied in total seriousness.

"...Uh...weren't we all there? The case ended two hours ago." Phoenix asked.

Upon 'winning' the case, 'von Karma' had promptly invited everyone involved out to eat - and at a karaoke bar of all places. While the rest of the group got to chow down, Phoenix and Edgeworth were treated to a lengthy retelling of the events that had already happened.

"FOOL!"

The cane nearly poked Phoenix in the nose.

"Only an Unawake fool such as you can fail to appreciate when those wiser than you share their history!"

As 'von Karma' promptly trotted off towards the karaoke machine, Phoenix's brain ground to a halt. Wait...'Unawake'...did that mean this guy was...!?

 _"I'm looking for him, from United King, I'm going to Californiaaaaaaa~"_

* * *

15.9 – (nuebattles)

[Cardcaptor Sakura]

Tomoyo Woke up when she sat down in class, memories flooding into her head suddenly, memories she shouldn't remember. She wasn't magic, she didn't have premonitions like Sakura did, she didn't time travel. So why did she 'remember'? Sakura will know, Tomoyo was sure of it.

Seeing Sakura walk in... It was like looking at a whole different person. It was still the Sakura she was in love with, of course. Her cheerful, lovely smile was real, and so was the softness in her eyes. But oh, how old she looked. How tired and lonely... How sad her beautiful green eyes were when they looked at the heiress. It broke her heart.

"Good morning," the heiress said quietly, resisting the urge to hug her. She needed to tell Sakura what's happening without seeming too obvious. So, be explicit without being obtuse. "The sun's so bright today. It's a good day to play with Sakura's cards."

Her calming smile did nothing to prevent Sakura's jolt of surprise, nor the grin spreading across her face as she deciphered the meaning of the words. Oh, how she was so glad that Sakura remembered! She didn't want to have to watch Sakura be so sad and hurt!

Except... why was Sakura crying? Happy tears, thankfully, but Tomoyo's heart breaks all the same. If Sakura remembers and she's this excited and relieved... Has she been going through this more than once? Has she been all alone? Was Lee there for her? Or her brother?

"Come over to my house today, please. I'll tell you everything, I promise," Sakura grinned wider than Tomoyo's ever seen, rubbing away the tears that were in her eyes and on her cheeks. She was always so beautiful when she was happy.

"It's a promise."

Tomoyo was a busy girl, of course. Being the daughter of the biggest toy company in Japan's CEO did that. But, for Sakura, she'd sacrifice quite a lot. No matter the plan, she'd cancel it without a blink for her friend's sake. Sakura had never been anything but kind and generous to her, and she, Tomoyo, would be so in return. That's why she canceled her piano lessons. She wanted answers, and she wanted to comfort Sakura, just in case.

Sakura kept a firm grasp on her hand the whole way to her lovely little home. The determined expression on her little face was intimately familiar and incredibly worrying. The heiress's mind raced, wondering what could have happened to her best friend that made her so serious. Tomoyo's stomach dropped as she thought about a possibility. What if Sakura, if she indeed has been repeating past events for longer than Tomoyo, what if Sakura had slipped up and something happened? What if someone had died?

Tomoyo would get answers, and she would help Sakura. There's no doubt about it.

"So, you've been repeating the past events hundreds of times, all alone?" Tomoyo's voice shook, the idea of Sakura being on her own, with no one to help her overwhelmed the heiress's usual calm. She hated being right sometimes.

"It's not all bad, Tomoyo! Sometimes things change up, like Yue being the human and Yukito being the Guardian! And a couple times, you were the Cardcaptor, and Toya was too! I actually went to my dad's university a couple times, once I realized that everything keeps resetting! TIME usually figures it out, and so do you. You just know me so well, most of the time," Sakura grinned, soothing her closest friend's worry. She always did reassure Tomoyo when she was upset.

"And... did you find out anything... you didn't realize?" Tomoyo's face was more curious than embarrassed, but Sakura's face fell, her face turning bright red and her eyes darting away.

"When... when Toya was the Cardcaptor, I was the Big Sister and you were... you were Yue's human form. Yukito took your place. We... we were each other's most special person. It was weird, because usually I'm with Syaoran, but... I noticed, after things went back to normal, you never changed. You always acted the same to me as you did that one reset. I figured it out. I'm sorry," the Cardcaptor shrunk into herself, guilt etched in her face. The dressmaker smiled quietly, and placed her hand on Sakura's, not feeling even a bit upset.

"I'm glad. You deserved to know. I don't care if you don't love me back, but... I can't say I'm not happy you loved me like that once. You are my precious person, Sakura, so please, don't make yourself sad for something out of your control," Tomoyo's voice was calming, her smile real. She was being honest, of course. The very idea that SHE was the one causing the girl's pain hurt, though the thought of them, as teenagers, being together, even once, gave her butterflies. She didn't need that though. She just needed Sakura to be okay.

"If you say so... Since this is your first time, what do you want to do during this reset? We don't even have to capture the Cards if you want!" Tomoyo giggled at Sakura's expression, thinking quietly.

"Of course you're going to be a Cardcaptor... but, how about you be my fashion model?!" The stars in the heiress's eyes were practically visible, her smile dreamy as she imagined it.

"But... but I already wear the clothes you make!"

"Not professionally!" The glint in Tomoyo's eyes was teasing, but Sakura knew her friend better than that. She was completely serious. Well, at least she could find out what it's like to have a job and also be a Cardcaptor. Kero would enjoy it at least, probably.

"How about we get Yukito and Big Brother in on this too? As my 'guardians,' since my dad's already a professor," Sakura wasn't going to let the two out of this if she didn't. Besides, maybe she could push them even closer.

"Perfect!"

* * *

15.10 - (kingofsouls)

[Eyeshield 21]

Deimon City.

My City.

The smog billowed in throughout the dirt and grime of my monochromatic home, shades of black, white, and gray the only colors you could see. And those three colors came in abundance, ruling the color scheme with not a single challenger in sight.

A single color pallet wasn't the only pressing concern. Deimon City reeked of crime, the smell of it repugnant and overbearing. It covered the city like a blanket of smog, not unlike the actual blanket of smog that mingled with the night sky and choke out the starlight. Down on the streets there was crime, more crime than a OCD vampire could could. ON those streets, you either became obliterated by the problem, or was a part of it. Cops were no help, because they were obviously corrupt and no one did a damn thing about it. If they did, the cops would "conveniently" arrest them and send them to the slammer till the day they died.

And that's why they called me. Sena Kobayakawa. Private Eye. And the fastest private eye that ever snooped around.

I Awoke, and looked around as I went over my Loop Memories/Backstory for the Loop. Right now, it was a fairly typical office of an ace Private Eye, typical to the point of being stereotypical. I was in my big fancy leather chair, leaning back into it as far as I could with my legs caressing the top of my desk, not really caring that there were several piles of papers littered here and there on my desk. Two simple chairs sat in front on my chair, pathetically simply when compared to the majestic chair I sat in. The fan above me rotated as a decent pace, cooling the room with its constant swish-swish-swish. And behind me was the only window, larger than what was really necessary but I was a private eye. I needed the street cred. The blind was closed, with the street lights outside filtered through the cracks of the blinds.

I got up, lazily might I add, and walked over to the fridge in the far side of the room. Inside was snacks, mostly for me with a banana pudding for Monta. I reached in, gripping a soda as I closed the door. I opened it, drinking in science as I wondered what I was going to do this Loop. My last Loop was Baseline, and a lonely Loop at that as Lonely Loops were also boring, depressing, and simply me waiting for the Loop to end hoping the next one isn't a Lonely Loop.

As I mulled on my previous Loop with the sounds of crime and villainy in the background, I thought on what I was going to do this Loop. I had never been in a position that I was now in. How knew, maybe it would be fun.

There was just one other question that needed answering.

"Why am I narrating myself?" I asked out loud, not really knowing the answer, nor expecting one. For some reason, my thought process was that of the narration I was currently giving myself in my thoughts.

Hopefully it was something that would go away, and soon.

There was a knock on the door, prying me from my narrated thoughts. "Come in!" was my response, and the door open revealing Mamori. The dame was drop dead gorgeous this Loop, the lack of color drawing more focus to her natural beauty. She bore her gangster attire from her Baseline flirtation with it: A suit covered by a fur lined cloak. Her neck had a pearl necklace, and a fan in her gloved hand. "Please tell me you're Awake?" she asked with a hopeful look in her eyes.

"I am." was my only answer to such a question. Mamori sat down in one of my chairs, relieved that I was Awake for this Loop. I looked at her as I sat down in my big fancy chair again, eager to swap information.

Also I needed to Pocket the chair. It was a nice chair.. "So Mamori, did you just Wake up or..."

"I woke up outside your office." was the dames answer. Geez, this internal monologuing was laying it on thicker than syrup. "I guess I was on my way to come on in, act like a helpless girl, and get you to investigate something I probably shouldn't have done in the first place."

"Which judging by the setting was actually a trap that you were forced into setting for me?"

Mamori nodded. "You don't need to guess who I'm working for?"

I winced instinctively as I spoke the most dreaded name in Deimon City was spoken. "Hiruma?"

"Hiruma."

Well, it really wasn't _that_ hard to guess if Hiruma what going to be in charge of the criminal element of a Loop given his Baseline personality.

Mamori continued with her spiel. "Apparently I'm from an up and coming mob family that moved in from America and my father lent Hiruma my services as a good will gift. And Hiruma likes me, in that way." She flashed me her hand and I whistled. 24 carats sat on her ring finger, the ring made from only the finest of diamond.

I was impressed. "So...how bad is it?"

"It's...weird." Mamori flinched.

Now, as I lived my Baseline for who knows how many Loops - definitely not me, I lost count - I begun to notice things going on between Mamori and Hiruma. Things you wouldn't notice the first time around if you weren't looking for them. Little interactions that one would pass off as minor and unimportant.

A ding went off in my head. An actual ding mind you as apparently my new found narrator habit also came with sound effects.

Sounds a lot like something Taki would do.

"You like him, don't you?" I grinned like a smug snake (or Agon, it's a close call honestly). At that Mamori immediately looked flustered - well more flustered anyway - and started to wiggle like a worm on a hook.

"What, Hiruma? He's a gangster and I just Woke up. There is no way I could..."

Whoops, wrong answer. My turn to panic. "No no, not this Hiruma. I mean the real Hiruma. Our Hiruma."

That somehow calmed Mamori back to normalcy as she mulled on that. I took the opportunity to continue. "I'm just curious. You and him are close, being quarterback and team manager."

"Sena, Hiruma is not someone I could say I liked that way."

"But you do like him a little, right?" I was genuinely curious what her answer would be. "Ever since I started Looping I noticed how you and him sometimes act around each other. Hiruma may yell at everyone but he yells at you the least. You see something in him, don't you?"

"Well...he does have his rough patches." came the admission. "I honestly hate how he treats people with the shouting, the threats, the blackmailing...but..." Mamori paused for a moment, as if she was thinking on what words were the most appropriate to say. "...he does have his charms. He does think the Devil Bats are his friends. Just in his own...special way."

"So...have you ever...done anything with him, like a date?"

"Sena, I see what you're doing, and while we are friends, I'd rather not talk about it right now."

I could tell from her steely gaze at me that this was a subject that I would regret pushing. I nodded, respecting my friend and her request for privacy regarding her possible love life. I dug into my pudding, the taste was okay but I'm not really sure why Monta likes these things (this Loop's Monta that is).

We didn't say anything for the next couple of minutes, simply letting the background music of crime and villainy play in the background. I did almost cross a line, and this eerie almost unnatural silence was the price of doing so. I wonder sometimes if I somehow know exactly what not to say, like a gut instinct sort of thing.

I also am beginning to despise this internal monologue thing.

"Soooo...gangster princess?"

"Yep."

"Is something big going to go down soon or something?"

"Weapons sale. Big one. Enough to start a gang war."

More silence.

"So...you wanna ruin the deal and save the city?" I asked with a smile. Mamori nodded in agreement and we both got up, ready to take on the world praying it doesn't end with me in a meat locker and us in Eiken. But as we reached the door Mamori stopped me. "Sena, one more thing?"

"Yea Mamori?"

"For some reason...I'm narrating everything I do in my head. Is that...normal?"

"Oh that's happening to you too?"

Glad I'm not the only one though.

* * *

15.12 – (wildrook)

[Familiar of Zero/Pokemon]

The Springtime Familiar Summoning Ritual.

Considering the times Louise went through it, she'd probably have enough human familiars to rival the Army of Albion, even WITH the...crazier Variants.

However, something was off...for instance, a certain busty redhead rival was...missing.

"This can't be good," Louise muttered. "Either someone's Replaced her, or she's feeling Loopy."

"Could be both," a familiar voice said, catching her by surprise.

"Gah! Saito!" she yelled.

Wait a minute. She forgot to check her Loop Memories...and so far...well, star-crossed lovers was fine but she'd pass on the tragic teenage romance.

"Never thought I'd see the day where the name Saito Zerbst doesn't make my blood boil, though," Louise replied. "Still, how'd we start DATING while our families are feuding?"

"I blame the fact that I'm replacing Kirche," Saito replied, "That, and things went...grim, but keep in mind that I never intended to hurt you, emotionally."

"This is before we both Awoke...other than that, going to go for flame sword dancing?"

"Maybe, but we still haven't checked our hunch yet. Let's see if I can summon Flame."

-x-x-x-x-

"A Charizard," Saito muttered, the Pokemon looking at him, flabbergasted. "Definitely wondering how he's not a Salamander. Let's see if our hunch is correct, Louise."

Louise then gave a smile, ignoring the people who thought she would screw this up. After a couple of Loops, the jeering was White Noise at this point. She did her usual chant, focusing on the Void Aspect as she looked at the circle, Saito and Sylphid a little surprised at what was at the gate.

However, after the usual explosion...

"Oww..." a female voice muttered. "Never went through the other end before..."

'Knew it,' Saito and Louise thought.

That's when the redhead realized something. "Wait...Louise? You summoned..."

"We'll talk later, Kirche," Louise replied. "After I finish this ritual...also, I'm really sorry about this."

Before Kirche could respond, Louise finished the ritual with a kiss. Kirche felt the runes appear on her hand before blacking out.

-x-x-x-x-

"That was a weird dream," Kirche muttered, waking up. "One minute, I was the bridesmaid of Louise's Wedding, the next thing I knew, I'm her familiar."

"It's no dream," Saito said, the Charizard sleeping on the bale of hay, catching her by surprise. "Well...neither of them were. You DID catch the bouquet there."

"Darling?" She then looked him over, a small grin on her face. "Well, I have to admit, you pull off the Germanian look quite well, but wouldn't Vallière be angry at you?'

Louise rolled her eyes. 'Same old Zerbst,' she thought. "Actually, you two switched roles this Loop. Somehow, Flame is a Charizard, who needed his rest after going through the portal, and you're one of the four Void Familiars."

"I'll ask what a 'Char-eh-zard' is later, but...if Darling and I switched roles..." She paused as she suddenly realized something. "Dear Brimir, are you two..."

"Yeah," Saito replied. "And the only ones who know are Tabitha and Sylphid." It was hard for him to remember not to use the Rhyme Dragon's real name, but he had to get to the point.

"Vallière and Zerbst in a secret romance, unknown to the traitorous Fiancee...someone should write a book." She then shook her head. "Never mind. What was that about a Loop?"

"Long story, but Louise is the Anchor, the person stuck in the center, and as her familiar-turned-husband, I'm naturally the first Looper. This is what's known as a Variant Loop. Surprisingly, I have access to a certain book you once had..." That's when Louise pulled his ear. "Hey, I never said I'd use it!"

"I know how you think, Saito," Louise replied. "But really, Zerb...no, Kirche, let's just say that Brimir's not exactly the divine man we thought he was."

Kirche then sighed. "So...how are we going to go through this...all over again? And with me and Darling switching positions? Is he a..."

"Not according to Loop Memories, no," Saito replied. "May have something to do with the fact that I liked Louise's fiery personality...but we kind of started seeing each other when..." He then looked at Louise, who nodded. "...when she needed a shoulder to cry on."

Kirche wasn't surprised, but the fact that Saito was still his usual romantic self even WHEN he was one of her kinsmen was a little romantic.

"So, when do you plan to reveal that to Wardes?" she asked them. "Also, you know you're going to need a Best Man for the Wedding, just in case you're dealing with a scorned ex-Fiancee and both your families."

"If it wasn't for this being your First Loop," Saito replied, "I'd say that's pretty accurate when dealing with feuding families in situations similar to this one. Other than that...Kirche, Welcome to the Multiverse. We've got _stories_ to tell you."

"First thing's first," Louise replied, "ever since I gained a mentor in my Fused Loop involving Swords, we use the term Servants for Human Familiars. Actually, you'd do well as Caster or Rider."

Kirche smirked. "Well _Master_ ," she purred teasingly, "what can this humble Servant do for you?"

"Don't push your luck, Zerbst," Louise barked, her face going crimson in an instant. "And I know you're still thinking about that kiss, Saito."

Saito sweat-dropped as he leaned next to the Charizard. "Well, things will be quite interesting," he muttered. ' _That, or it might be my worst nightmare...still, I did miss their fights. I'm still reeling from the Loop where they got ALONG._ '

He may have been a slight pervert, but the concept of Louise and Kirche getting along had him completely terrified beyond the capacity of rational thought… although for some odd reason, he couldn't help wonder what kind of fruit these circumstances would bear.

 _'… I'm starting to think the others were right when they said I tend to have masochistic thoughts...'_

* * *

15.13 - (krspaceT)

[One Piece]

"Give my brother back, now!"

The entirety of the Marines, from the Admirals three (Akainu the Lava Murderer, Aokiji the Ice Drifter and Kizaru the Glimmer) to the Vice Admirals such as Garp (Grandfather of Luffy and Ace), Smoker (The Chaser, as he was sometimes known, who had apparently become a Vice Admiral earlier due to some changes to the timeline caused by the Straw Hats), and Jonathan (Who seemed to only appear every other Loop for some odd reason), to even lower grunts like Cody the Pink, found their entire force being stared down by one of the most feared men of the Loop.

Ace, who was in chains, looked up in shock "Luffy!?"

While normally the 20ish Ace was older than the 17 year old Luffy, this Loop Luffy had been older, so he appeared to be about 25 or so.

This Loop was a special one, you see.

In this Variant, Luffy had longer to set sail on the sea, though many of the events that occurred in the Baseline still occurred with similar time. He still fought and defeated Arlong to free Nami from equal years of slavery, still ended up in the conflict for Pluton and many other grand adventures (Bar the whole, bear paw teleporting thing), he also had time to do...more.

Enough to be declared a Yonko (after defeating Big Mama)

His crew of Nine may be few, but they all were so powerful it stumped even the wisest Marine.

Of course, the Looping helped, but they didn't know that, and it would take a while for any Marine to Loop.

His straw hat, the hat of Gol D Rodgers, seemingly radiating power, Luffy turned to his eight crewmates.

"Take them down!" was the only order he needed to give as each one flew into the fray.

-x-x-x-x-

Brook the Humming, the skeleton given life once again by the powers of the fruit, breathed in deeply as he lunged at a large chunk at Marines, who all drew their swords.

Brook responded with a massive scream that manifested itself into a giant green sonic wave that blasted hundreds of Marines away.

A pair came at him from each side, to which Brook responded with two finger guns aimed at each.

"Spirit Gun!"

Green energy shots flew out of each finger, blasting them both back.

-x-x-x-x-

Whatever the Marines were expecting from a high ranking pirate, a blue haired man in a Hawaiian shirt and a speedo was not it.

The robot pulling out a glowing blue energy platelet from out of nowhere and inserting it into his arm.

"CYBER KEY POWER!" Cyborg Franky shouted as his arm morphed into a giant laser canon and let loose.

The blast left a deep crater in the ground that would later become a trench.

As Franky landed next to said crater, hundreds of Marines charged as each arm morphed into identical arm cannons.

Franky crossed his arms, as his mega blasters went flying, blasting away Marine after Marine.

"YEAH! FRANKY B-3000 IS OFF THE CHARTS!" Franky shouted before letting out a vanilla missile blast from his left arm at a Marine foolish enough to try and shoot the Man!

"SUPER!"

-x-x-x-x-

Devil Child Robin was a lot easier on the eyes than the Cyborg or the Skeleton, so the Marines she leapt at originally assumed that she was comparatively harmless.

A second Robin appearing alongside her really didn't scare them that much.

Nico just smirked as she decided to pull off that new combo with her Devil Fruit powers she had been practicing with, as her copy glowed purple and reformed into a scepter.

Spinning the scepter around a few times, she slammed it in to the ground as she landed, sending a ripple that knocked all the Marines who had been previously staring at her off their feet.

Kizaru flashed in at this point, deciding to be the first of the Admirals to make a move.

She responded by forming a pair of arms behind him, clasping those hands together as energy formed at the center of those palms and slamming them into the ground.

He was not prepared for the Glyphs to rise up from the ground and slam into him at the same time.

"Those who do not learn from history, will be doomed by it" Robin declared

-x-x-x-x-

Coby had the good fortune of encountering the Tanuki form of Tony-Tony Chopper, the Cotton Candy Lover.

He and the rest of the marines in the area assumed they got the easy Pirate to stop.

They were soon informed of the depths of their error as golden light formed in the sky above.

"JUDGEMENT!" Chopper shouted with an echo as bolts of golden energy rained down from the sky.

As Marine after Marine was judged, and found wanting, Tony began to transform.

Coby, who had the fortune of dodging Judgement, instead got the fortune of witnessing Monster Point, the massive Reindeer monster form of Tony Tony Chopper.

"They put a 50 berry bounty on that!?" a non fainted marine shouted in horror as Chopper unleashed a blue energy beam from his mouth in a moving spread, sending hundreds more Marines Flying.

Let's just say that the Marines need to stop investing in all that cannon fodder.

-x-x-x-x-

Aokiji found himself up against Black Leg Sanji, but he had to ask first...

"Any chance you can just leave? Yawn..."

Sanji responded with an enormous blast of fire from his hands.

Aokiji countered with an ice wall, which blocked the firebending.

"...Really? I didn't ask for this giant ceremony of an execution? It would be easier to have just beheaded him quietly..."

Fire and Ice clashed once more, thus guaranteeing Aokiji would not get any rest soon.

-x-x-x-x-

 _"Oh, the wind carries my name_

 _from Sniper Island far away._

 _When I take aim, it is straight and true,_

 _lu lu la la lu._

 _Whether you're a man or a mouse:_

 _Lock on!_

 _I will put your heart in my sights,_

 _LOCK ON!_

 _No one knows what secrets hide_

 _behind this mask and my cape._

 _Lu lu lu lu lu la la!_

 _There is no escape!_

 _(Sogeking sniper pa pa)_

 _Sogeking aims true!"_

The Marine's just stared at the masked vigilante in...confusion.

"You can call me Sniper King if you want. It doesn't really matter" Sogeking took aim with his slingshot and fired a white stringy ball into the air over his bundle of Marines.

The ball exploded over them, releasing white webbing that restrained them all in a huge spider web.

"Special attack, Parker Special" Sogeking smirked as he drew a black ball and fired it as well, up into the sky as it exploded.

"Finishing move, Rain of a Million Bats!" the black ball exploded, releasing a thousand boomerangs shaped like bats, which rained down from the heavens like a torrential rainstorm.

-x-x-x-x-

"Stupefy!"

Smoker disintegrated into smoke to avoid the orange spell from the weather witch, Nami, reforming as he studied her.

"So, you are a witch as the rumors said you were? Don't think I'm not on to you..."

"Reducto!"

He turned to smoke once again and launched a smoke arm towards her.

"You can't defeat me if you can't touch me..."

He then only noticed that she had a trident in her hands, a weapon that seemed to throb with power.

"Behold the power of the Stormbringer!"

Fun fact; Sudden wind storms blow smoke away pretty well.

Smoker found himself reforming in Water 7 a few weeks later from the miniature hurricane that Nami formed around herself.

-x-x-x-x-

The former Pirate Hunter Zoro, who occasionally was called Zolo, was a well known figure for his odd three sword fighting style.

However, the pirates couldn't even begin to describe what they saw before them.

Zorro now had seven swords; and none were in his hands.

Two were in his arm pits, one between a shoulder and his neck, one in his mouth, another in his left armpit, his right hip joint, on top his right leg and held behind his right knee.

His blades were unique; bar his three 'regular' ones, there was a blade that resembled half a scissor, a blade made of green energy from a metal cylinder, a gold blade that shined like scales and a blade that resembled a very large key.

"What the hell does he think he's doing? How could that crazy stance possible..."

Zorro promptly demonstrated how 'effective' a 'crazy stance' could be.

-x-x-x-x-

Monkey D. (Straw Hat) Luffy, found Akainu in his path.

"You will not stand in the way of Justice Pirate..."

Akainu got a punch in the face for even talking.

The fist, however, was green, and the impact sent Akainu flying into the sky with the force of an embodiment of rage.

As Akainu crashed down, a now fully green Luffy leapt up from above and began beating the living Pumice out of him.

"LUFFY SMASH!"

"What power..." Johanthan said in horror as Garp couldn't help but smile proudly at his grandson.

* * *

15.4 (cont.) –

"I'LL KILL THAT FUCKER!"

In the dark recesses of Shinji's mind lurked traces, imprints of ancient thoughts and timeless memories. Faint glimpses into the earliest Loops. In his dark nights, alone and sleepless, he could see even the faintest of them with clarity.

This probably accounted for the déjà vu he was feeling, as he tried to kill someone while four people held him back.

In all honesty though, this differed from his little attempt to through Asuka overboard in two key respects: everyone grabbing him was a pony, and his target was someone that he could not honestly fathom them protecting. It was, after all, Gendo he was after.

Sitting idly at his table and sipping coffee heavily laced with his favorite bourbon, a ponified Gendo Ikari watched his son (who had used a philosophers stone to she'd his pony form) advance. On his feet were Rainbow Dash and Ganondorf, directly in front of him was Toph with a rock wall. Twilight had lassoed him from behind and was pulling all her might. Against the Fourth Looper though, it only amounted to an inconvenience. Gendo calmly sipped his coffee again.

Most of the bar-goers had barricades themselves against the walls and corners, watching the drama unfold. No one was interfering, not after what had happened to Naruto. The Third Looper was currently on a one way trip to Andromeda.

Shinji took another step, the force of his feet falling upon the wood shattering it into it's component molecules. Sweat poured down his four barricaders as they worked to slow him down. The assembled held their breath as Shinji approached the one being that no one thought would ever Loop. And Gendo simply sipped his coffee and waited.

Finally tiring of the charade, Shinji slammed Rainbow Dash, Ganondorf, and Toph with an AT-field, sending all three flying. A single, burningly furious glare at Twilight dissolved the rope binding him with pure hate. Now free, Shinji marched over to Gendo and lifted him up by one of his lapel's. His free hand curled into a fist. A single word fell from his lips; "why?"

The assembled held their breath. A few late comers discreetly moved around the edges, trying to get appraised of the situation. Gendo, for the first time that night, spoke. "Why what?"

Shinji started shaking, tears of fury running down his face. A flurry of alchemic sparks coursed over Gendo's body, reverting him from a pony form to his human form. "Why... why everything. You made my life hell on earth. WHY YOU STUPID BASTARD!? WHY DID YOU ALWAYS DO THAT!? WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO ME! WHY WOULD YOU KILL TOJI, KILL KAJI, KILL REI! WHYYYYY!?"

Gendo looked his real son straight in the eye. "Because if I did, then I would have Yui back. If I did, my family would be happy again."

Shinji locked up. Gendo pressed his supposed advantage. "I thought at the end that Rei would give me a choice. A choice to undo everything, fix everything. But instead of me, she gave it too my son. My idiot son who never figured out what was happening and ruined my scenario with his idiocy. I can't fathom why she would do that Shinji. So unless you want to interrogate me for something that I can't explain, for something I can barely even comprehend, I suggest you out me down."

For a moment, near silence filled the air. Tense breathing, the shuffle of skin on fabric, and the minute settling of Mac's bar filled the air. And then it was engulfed with something no one had expected: laughter. Insane, pained, sobbing, gleeful, terrifying laughter. And it was Shinji's laughter.

"You hahaha, you thi-nnnnk that I care what hahahappened to your scenario!?" A smile the Joker would have been proud of flashed on to Shinji's face. "You're a damn fool, aren't you Gendo?"

In the back, Batman began initiating his "Insane Shinji" plans.

Gendo looked at Shinji. "Boy, let me tell you something. I have no idea what is happening. I only recognize you as the person who is and has been replacing my William."

Billy. It all came down to Billy.

Shinji laughed out loud, long and hard. Ranma and Ichigo started listening in on Batman's countermeasures to Shinji. "You think I don't know that? Well news-flash for you Pops, I'M YOUR SON!" Shinji moved so quickly only a handful of Loopers saw his movements in full. The rest merely watched as he slammed Gendo into the ground. "HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT HUH!? YOUR SON ISN'T REALLY YOUR SON! HE'S JUST MY _REPLACEMENT_!"

Gendo reached up and adjusted his glasses even so non-nonchalantly, even though he was in clear pain. "Honestly boy, I don't know what to think."

 _That_ brought up Shinji short.

"Boy, I've been through third impact three times. Time has reset twice for me, and both times I saw you instead of my son. William Ikari may not have been the brightest boy, but he was still mine. I didn't realize how much I hurt him. When everything had changed back but with you in his place, I was horrified. I stuck to my scenario though: perhaps their was some way to replicate the results and bring back my son. You foiled it both times. So, Shinji _Ikari_ I don't know who you are, so let Me Go And FIND MY SON!"

Silence came crashing down on to the Ikari's. Finally Shinji stood, and spat on Gendo. "Fuck you."

Gendo sat up and glared death at Shinji. "Fuck off boy. You're not my son."

Shinji turned, and left the building. Gendo staggered to his feet, grabbing his side in pain. A buttercup yellow pegasus, Fluttershy, trotted up to him. "Do you need any help Mister Ikari?"

Gendo nodded, and looked around. "Well? WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT?"

The many patrons of the bar slowly returned to their positions, throwing more then a few glares and glances at Gendo. Fluttershy began dressing his wounds. Gendo glared at anything that looked at him funny, and silently worried about his real son, Shinji.

And outside? Shinji walked into the dark. He would not return; he had no need to. Gendo, his Gendo, would never be alive in the same sense he was.

It was strange... and for the first time in millennia, Shinji felt his heart ache. "Bastard. If he can't remember me... then fine. I don't need a father anyway."

* * *

15.1 – The worst part? He can't confiscate their electronics because they're built in.  
15.2 – Look on the bright side Miho: at least it's not an F-14.  
15.3 – If you think that's bad, wait until you find out _Luna's_ the one piloting the moon in said fistfight.  
15.4 - This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang, but a gibber.  
15.5 – That's one weird family tree. The only other family of vampire fairies I know of are the Cullens.  
15.6 – Honestly Gil, waving around that giant golden invitation? What did you expect would happen?  
15.7 – Truly kittens are the most powerful creatures on the planet.  
15.8 – The Sword of Justice cuts both ways.  
15.9 – Tomoyo is the very embodiment of the 'I Want My Beloved To Be Happy' trope.  
15.10 – Out of all the offices, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.  
15.11 – At that moment Professor Colbert felt a chill go up his spine. And *ahem* down it as well.  
15.13 – No such thing as overkill when fighting for the sake of family.  
15.4 (cont.) - Gendo's a bad dad. Even when he's actively trying to be a good one.


	16. Chapter 16

16.1 – (TangleKat, OracleMask, Custodator, Crisis, Purrs, SeaofFallingStars, TrueZero2, AbZHz101, MrEgret, Leonite)

[Cardfight Vanguard/MLP/Naruto/Star Wars/Homestar Runner/Ace Attorney/Mega Man/Phantom of the Opera/Transformers/Johnny Bravo/Ratchet & Clank/Avatar: The Last Airbender/Gokaiger/Kingdom Hearts/Yu-Gi-Oh!]

 **Log Date 10⋅08⋅26⋅10⋅14 -**

 _Path Detected_

 **»** _UNIVERSAL SUB-DESIGNATION 2037_

 **»»** _SEED: HUB-LIKE WITH EXTRASOLAR WORLDFORM_

 **»»»** _CURRENT STABILITY OF BRANCH: 12%; LOOP CURRENTLY REGISTERED AS "READ ONLY"._

 **»»»»** _STABILITY OF BRANCH WITH VIABLE ANCHOR CANDIATE: 62%_

 **»»»»»** _WARNING: POSSIBLE VIRAL ENTITY - DESIGNATION "Void"._

 **»»»»»** _WARNING: CORRUPTION OF PRIMARY ANCHOR CANDIDATE BY "Void" ENTITY. WARNING: CORRUPTION OF SECONDARY ANCHOR CANDIDATE BY "Void" ENTITY._

 **»»»»»** _ERROR: CORRUPTION OF ALL ANCHOR CANDIDATES BY "Void" ENTITY._

 **»»»»»** _LOOP DESIGNATED NON-VIABLE DUE TO VOID ENTITY. QUARANTINE OF LOOP SUGGESTED._

 **»»»»»** _LOOP NOW REGISTERED AS QUARANTINED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE._

Thoth stared at the text that was currently scrolling across his screen. He had been working on fixing the stability of the Yu-Gi-Oh Loops – primarily the loops Anchored by Candidate Yuya – and had come across a previously un-accessed part of the oldest loops. Unfortunately, it seemed that the new data was partially damaged, and it had been registered as a Variant until it could be repaired further.

And that was when things began to get interesting. He had turned to the back-ups stored in the Hub – trying to repair the data in the hopes that it might clear up some memory and allow for a smoother expansion period in the latest link – and had come across a backup hidden behind the information he had been searching for.

Intrigued, he had set his intern to watching over the main loops while he himself had begun to search for this hidden branch. And after quite a bit of effort, he had done it. However, some sort of virus seemed to have locked him out of the world altogether. And now it was registering infection of the various candidates… this wasn't good. He needed a good set of Anti-Virus software.

But he wouldn't give up. The curse of being a god of Knowledge was that burning desire to learn and catalog as much as possible. And it was that same burning desire that drove the ibis-headed deity to salvage as much of this loop as possible. The potential loss of this world, and the release of the virus… it simply wasn't an option, when so much information – information that could stabilize so many loops – could be lost.

Maybe Sleipnir could lend a copy of the Old Man Henderson software…

 **Log Date 07⋅14⋅10⋅28⋅14 -**

Thoth stalked into the break room, poured himself a glass of wine – the good stuff, from old Egypt – and sat down grumpily at one of the tables. His irate mood was enough to send some of the other Admins nearby scattering for other tables – preferably tables where they wouldn't be turned into baboons.

"I vow this, Sleipnir Lokison – when I ascertain your current location, you will pay most dearly for this unfortunate absence. Preferably with many rolls of urinal tissue draped over your console. And baboons running rampant in your sleeping quarters." If ibises had teeth, Thoth would be grinding them in rage. He had been unable to find the eight-legged deity, and no-one else seemed to be available – save for the debuggers, but going to them was always a bad idea.

With a loud sigh, he drained his glass to the dregs and wiped the scant drops that remained off of his beak. "I will require more alcohol – preferably one with a very high proof – when all this has been… dealt with."

-x-x-x-x-

Upon returning to his console, Thoth realized that he should have placed more safeguards on the virus that had infected (or somehow grown from) the Loop. Instead of merely being locked out of the Loop, his entire terminal was now almost completely locked down. A foreboding black circle glowed with an ominous red light on his desktop, and it was a miracle that whatever it was hadn't spread to any other Loops.

Yet.

His concern for the virus's effects growing rapidly, he sat down at his keyboard and began to type.

 _»REQUEST LOG-OUT_

 _»»LOG-OUT DENIED. CONTACT MODERATOR "Void Agent" FOR ASSISTANCE._

 _»REQUEST SERVER LOG_

 _»»SERVER LOG DENIED. CONTACT MODERATOR "Void Agent" FOR ASSISTANCE._

 _»ACCESS MAIN CODE_

 _»»MAIN CODE ACCESS DENIED. CONTACT MODERATOR "Void Agent" FOR ASSISTANCE._

It was clear that the virus was much more prolific than he had originally assumed. It had written itself into the code as a moderator; if left unchecked it would likely spread across the multiverse and could lock down all of Yggdrasil.

"Twice-taken son of a—!"

 _»ACCESS ADMIN FUNCTIONS_

 _»»INPUT USERNAME:_ _ibisknowledge_ _＠_ _server._ _ygg_

 _»»INPUT PASSWORD:_ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █

 _»»_ _»_ _ACCESS GRANTED. FUNCTIONS LIMITED. CONTACT MODERATOR "_ Void Agent _" FOR ASSISTANCE._

 _»LOCK ACCESS TO MAIN SERVER_

 _»»SERVER ACCESS LOCKED. CONTACT MODERATOR "_ Void Agent _" FOR ASSISTANCE._

 _»LOCK ACCESS TO NETWORK_

 _»»NETWORK ACCESS LOCKED. CONTACT MODERATOR "_ Void Agent _" FOR ASSISTANCE._

 _»ACCESS PERSONNEL PROFILES – ACCESS CODE 21⋅20⋅15⋅16⋅09⋅01_

 _»»ACCESS DENIED. CONTACT MODERATOR "_ Void Agent _" FOR ASSISTANCE._

 _»ACCESS MODERATOR PROFILES_

 _»»ACCESS DENIED. CONTACT MODERATOR "_ Void Agent _" FOR ASSISTANCE._

Thoth massaged his temples and glared at the green code. In particular, at the error message that followed each attempt at cracking down on this virus. He had been able to restrict the virus's access – " _with very little force required… suspicious"_ he thought warily – to the server and the network. But if it came down to it – if he had to choose between saving the Loop or saving Yggdrasil from the virus…

There would be no choice at all.

\- END SAW&R($Q(R(A

WARNING – FILE CORRUPTION. VIRAL ENTITY DETECTED.

 _»_ ACCESS MEMBER PROFILES

 _»_ **ACTIVATE PROTOCOL [ЯEVERSE]**

 _»_ _»_ **[** **ЯEVERSE] PROTOCOL ACTIVATED.**

Thoth stared with growing horror at the crimson words emblazoned on his screen.

 **[ЯEVERSE] PROTOCOL ACTIVATED.**

How? How could it have done this? There was no way that the virus could have done this. Not even if it was sentient. Granted, there were many sentient viruses in the multiverse, but none should have been able to infect Yggdrasil like this.

It was simply impossible.

It was in this condition that Hermes found the ibis-headed deity. He'd heard Thoth's oath in the break-room, but this… to find him Locked out of his own terminal and staring transfixed at the screen…

"Crap. _Thoth, what did you do?!_ "

The god of knowledge turned empty-eyed to his fellow Admin. "It got into the profiles. Every profile I had for every Looper. They're probably infected by now. And there's nothing I can do to stop it. If anyone tries to log in, they'll be Locked out too. And I, for all my knowledge, can do nothing."

Hermes blanched. Thoth wasn't being long-winded. Thoth was always long-winded. A non-long-winded Thoth was a very bad thing.

And since the closest terminal was down, the only course of action was to contact everyone. On foot. Or at the very least, on winged feet. "I'm going to get help. You… uh, you stay right here. Keep an eye on things. I'll be back."

And with that, the god of messengers sped out, hoping against hope to make it in time.

-x-x-x-x-

WHAT DO YOU MEAN "HE INFECTED ALL OF THEM?!" Skuld's screech almost blew out Hermes eardrums, and he had to brace his legs in order to avoid being blown backwards.

"Exactly what I said. Thoth was trying to get a branch online, he found a virus in it and it somehow got out of the system and into the various Looper profiles. He doesn't know how, and it's broken him so badly that he's speaking normally. What did you think I meant?"

Skuld ground her teeth. "Do you have _any_ idea what the outcome of this will be? Or what Belldandy will do to you when you tell her what's happened to her husband?"

For the second time in an hour, Hermes' face went white. While the Norn of the present was normally a soft-spoken and gentle-hearted individual, she was very defensive of Keiichi. And since his profile was logged with the other Looper profiles…

Crap. Again. A thousand times CRAP. There was no way this could get worse.

"I'm not looking forward to this. Not one bit."

-x-x-x-x-

Quetzalcoatl sighed as he watched the code on his terminal flow by. The serpentine god of wisdom had worked in the IT department until a minor mishap had somehow ended in his becoming Thoth's intern. He was certain that it was intended to be a punishment, but he had grown to like old-ibis head, no matter how long-winded he could get. Besides, it was fun to keep an eye on the Yu-Gi-Oh Loops. If he got bored, he could always take a close up look by -

 **[ЯEVERSE] PROTOCOL ACTIVATED.**

The crimson letters shocked Quetzalcoatl to his core. Reverse Protocol… It couldn't be. That universe had been locked away due to viral infection, and a memo had been sent to all Admins. Thoth couldn't have – unless he didn't – and that would mean –

Bad. This was very, very bad. Barring a full-on delete of all Looper Profiles, there was only one way to eliminate the virus, and it was dangerous at best. At worst?

Their only chance would be to pray. And a god praying was never a good sign.

-x-x-x-x-

» **ANCHOR PROFILES RESTRICTED. CANNOT BE ЯEVERSED OUTSIDE OF COMBAT.**

» **TARGET AWAKE MALICIOUS ENTITY PROFILES**

» **MALICIOUS ENTITY PROFILES RESTRICTED**

» **TARGET NEGATIVE ENTITIES**

»» **TARGET CONFIRMED. PROCEED Y/N?**

»»» **YES.**

- Loop Designation: Equestria -

Everything had started out normally. It had been a fairly close to baseline run; only Twilight and Spike were Awake, and Twilight had decided to make this a "nickname only" run.

She'd managed to make it up to Trixie's entrance and the incident with the Ursa Major, and then things had…

Trixie had frozen in place and started to glow with a smoky red aura. The unicorn illusionist's eyes had grown dull and distant, with crimson marks appearing like bloody tearstains on her fur.

After regaining motion, she'd defeated Rainbow Dash with ease, and the what-ever-it-was had spread to her friend.

Then the battle had started. Trixie and Rainbow had begun to fight – and defeat – anyone who came near them, and the defeated gained the aura and markings.

If that hadn't been bad enough, an ominous black ring – a ring that pulsated with an eerie red light – had begun to open in the sky, with a star-filled void barely visible through it.

Dodging a frantic villager's attempt to attack her, Twilight began to reach into her Pocket for OWL.

And then froze, because all of a sudden she couldn't access her Pocket. It was still there, she could feel it, so it wasn't like Eiken's lockdown – and upon trying a Detect Magic spell from the Dungeons and Dragons world, she found that her Loop Abilities had been locked as well.

" _Lock."_

Twilight turned to face Trixie – the source of all of this. "What's going on here? What did you do?"

Trixie laughed. It was a horrible, terrifying and insane laugh. "Link Joker has come. All will bow before the might of Яeverse! Your pathetic magic is useless compared to the power of Lock! And this paltry world will fade, just like all others."

The Unicorn Anchor frowned, lowered her head and pawed at the ground threateningly. "I don't know what's going on, and I don't care. I WILL defeat you, and I WILL save my friends. You don't know this world, and you don't know me."

With those words, Twilight threw herself into the fray.

\- Loop Designation: Elemental Nations -

"Seriously? Sasuke, what is _wrong_ with you?" Naruto dodged a Chidori, and prepared to counter it with a Rasengan. "I have no idea what the heck this "Reverse" is, but you can bet that I'll stop it. There's no way that I'll lose, even if I don't have my Pocket or my Loop Abilities. I'm smart enough to beat you all by myself!"

Sasuke shrugged and let the energy flow into his Susanoo. "Whatever. Since it's here, I might as well go with it. Maybe it'll shake things up around here. I mean, how many times have we had this fight now? I'd say that they're already countless."

\- Loop Designation: Galaxy Far Far Away -

Anakin gasped as the dark energy flowed into him. Palpatine's strange and unexpected power hadn't been there a moment ago. Something had happened in Yggdrasil…

"Yes, my student. Bow before the power of Link Joker!"

Anakin had to smile at that. "Are you so certain that I will be overcome?" He straighten, the shock of it already fading. "This power pales in comparison to the Dark Side!" Loop Abilities? Who needs them? Strength of will – a strength built up over countless years of Looping – was all it took.

\- Loop Designation: Homestar Runner -

"Tremble in fear, puny mortals! For I, Strong Bad, shall destroy you all with the power of Яeverse!"

Strong Bad shouting about his next 'evil' plan wasn't a strange sight in the House of Strong. But the extra red marks and the shadowy power was new. Strong Sad shared a confused glance with Strong Mad.

" **BROKEN?** " Strong Mad asked.

"Maybe," Strong Sad said, shrugging, "I've never seen him like this before."

"Hey! Don't ignore me! Put up your dukes, we're gonna have an old-fashioned Strong-Bad-Kicks-The-Crap-Out-Of-His-Brothers-And-Maybe-Also-The-Cheat-Fighting...Fight, here!" Strong Bad yelled, shaking his fists at his brothers.

" **BRAWL!** " Strong Mad yelled obligingly, punching Strong Bad into the nearest wall.

"...anybody got the plate of that...sassafras..." Strong Bad dizzily mumbled from his new position in a crumpled heap, seeing stars floating by his head.

Strong Sad scratched his head in confusion, noting that the strange markings and power were now gone from the middle brother of the House of Strong. Huh.

The Anchor could only wonder: what had that been about anyway?

\- Loop Designation: Ace Attorney -

Apollo Justice struggled to swallow the bile that had risen in his throat, unwilling to stare at the person in front of him.

His friend. His mentor. His Anchor. Phoenix Wright. One of the most morally upstanding Loopers in the multiverse, and a veritable genius when it came to solving mysteries. Phoenix was the sort of man who would relentlessly pursue the truth, no matter where or when he was needed.

And yet... Phoenix stood there grinning like the Joker himself. A smoky red aura... the dull eyes and crimson facial markings... it stunk of this "Яeverse" thing that had cropped up over the last hour or so. And like the others, he had been going about and challenging everyone he came across to a puzzle.

Stupid fused Loop with Layton. Why, of all times, had it happened now?

Those who had lost had joined Phoenix on this mad crusade, all for the sake of Яeverse. He'd seen Miles fall, Tracy had been done in with an on-the-spot dance contest... was there no way to win?

The young attorney slapped his cheeks hard, wincing a little at the pain. No. This wasn't the time to consider such things. Phoenix may have joined the Яeverse due to a fluke, but there was still hope somewhere. A good lawyer never gives up on a case, after all.

\- Loop Designation: Megaverse -

"Bass?" Rock, known to much of the world as the Mega Man, blinked as he walked into Light Labs' on-site kitchen. "...Are you aware that your face markings are red?"

"Yeah," Bass replied calmly as he continued washing dishes that Roll, also known to much of the world as the Mega Woman, handed to him. "Some piss-ass corrupting thing calling itself the 'Яeverse' for some lame-o named Link Joker or whatever. Honestly I just stopped listening to it after a few seconds. I mean, it's not like I need an excuse to beat on you or anything, but I prefer to do it on my terms, maybe pops's if I'm in a good mood, not some piss-ass coward's who can't even be bothered to show its face. Make no mistake, I'm going to want an epic throw-down after this blows over, but for now I'm just not giving this thing the satisfaction."

Rock blinked and shrugged as he walked over to the towel laid out next to the sink and grabbed a dry dishtowel. If Bass said he could handle it, he probably could. "I'll dry."

\- Loop Designation: Phantom of the Opera -

Christine glared at Erik as he strangled her fiancé. She had had _plans_ for this loop, and that was the only reason they had let baseline come this far. She didn't _like_ letting people die, and now they had, and it had been for nothing.

He had been dousing himself in self-pity as usual when his face gained these strange red markings. Raoul came in right on schedule, which was probably the only thing saving her at the moment.

"Stop it!" she demanded, but it was too late. Erik's now-feathered shadow began to boil the lake as he dropped the body, glowered at it, and set it aflame for good measure.

He turned to Christine, eyes blazing, paused, then frowned, glancing behind him. "Sorry."

"I'm not speaking to you for the rest of the loop, maybe the next one. That was absolutely horrific." She turned and strode away.

"But -" He hesitated. "I suppose that's fair."

\- Loop Designation: Transformers \- _Yggdrasil Terminal_ -

Pandora knew the her branch was safe thanks to Vector's terminal to chat with her. Didn't change the fact that she wanted to go find Hestia and cry.

"Are you okay, Pandora?"

Thank the universe she knew when to appear. Getting up from her terminal (which had a growing collection of toys that she asked the Norns to get whenever they were in their loop, notably a well-painted Vector) she all but lunged into Hestia's arms.

"They solved the problem on their own in the worst way possible."

Stroking the crying goddess, Hestia saw the input from Vector on her terminal:

 _Lady Pandora, Ultra Magnus led a team to activate the Universal Killswitch. They modified it to cross into all subsets I was supporting and took out the Яeverse infected Transformers._

"It's alright child, it's alright. Your domain is safe, and your charges solved the problem."

"Doesn't change the fact that Vector and I had to fucking watch them commit multiversal genocide. Not even Ares at his worst advocated such a thing."

"I know child, I know."

\- Loop Designation: Aron City-

Johnny Bravo whistled as he strolled down the street. Things were looking up in the Loops for him. He's gotten over his obsession thanks to that Mega Dude, Rock taking the time to look past everything and see something worthwhile in him and he'd even started making a few friends like that Taylor chika. Heck, one of his best buds had started looping recently too. Sure, Carl Shocker was a scrawny geek and could be a bit annoying and eccentric at times, but Johnny still kinda liked the guy. They were bros for life. Several of them in fact.

"Johnny, help!"

Speaking of the dude...

"Pops has gone crazy!" the local young genius dashed behind Johnny to hide. Considering how much muscle Johnny had on him and how thin the guy was, two of him probably could have hid behind Johnny. Maybe three.

And close behind him was Pops, the diner cook of... questionable ethics (to put it lightly). Sporting red markings under black eyes and grinning like he'd found his latest ingredients.

"You shall be Яeversed for Link Joker!" the man yelled crazily as he leaped at Johnny in an aggressive frenzy.

Johnny simply got into a stance, called up the power of his patent-pending Broforce, and punched the man in the stomach. Pops's eyes bugged out from the blow and the red marking and blackness over his eyes appeared to just pop off his face and shatter into dust.

"Now, ah, what was that all about?" Johnny blinked in confusion behind his ever-present shades. Did he miss the signs of a weird Variant when he Awoke again?

\- Loop Designation: Ratchet & Clank -

It had been a somewhat normal Loop thus far, Drek had been thoroughly defeated and the Protopet Fiasco had been stopped cold. When it came to the Tyhrannoid War though, things had gotten out of hand quickly.

After arriving on the Planet Florana and going through the Path of Death as per usual, Qwark had suddenly gone crazy (which, considering Qwark currently thought he was a monkey, was quite the achievement) and started swinging at Ratchet.

"What the heck Qwark?!" Ratchet shouted, trying to fend off the former Galactic Hero.

"Ratchet. Look at Qwark's eyes." Clank replied. Looking closer, Ratchet noticed the red marks running down the sides of Qwark's face.

"What the…" Ratchet said, nervous. The two of them may have been some of the younger Loopers by comparison, but even then this was entirely new.

"Link… Joker…" Qwark growled as a blood-red aura appeared. "Fight…"

He lunged at the duo, roaring as he did so.

\- Loop Designation: Four Nations -

"What's the matter you two?" Azula asked as she bathed the courtyard of the Boiling Rock in blue fire. "I bet you weren't expecting this kind of power!"

"What's with her?!" Sokka asked the team's resident Firebender as the two of them took cover behind some nearby debris.

"No clue. But that aura's making me nervous." Zuko replied, "Look at those marks beneath her eyes too. You're the Anchor, Sokka, have you come across anything like this in the Loops?"

"Nope! Brand new and hating it already!" Sokka shouted, "Plus we can't access our Pockets so we're stuck with Baseline skills!"

"Yeah, that Lock thing she used is really starting to get on my nerves." Zuko said, quickly popping up and firing off some Lightning, only for Azula to disperse it easily.

"Not bad little brother, but I'm afraid that it's not good enough." Azula said, "When I'm done with you, the Avatar's next, and then Father after that!"

"What, are you planning to overthrow our Father?" Zuko asked, running to some larger cover.

"In a way." Azula replied, "I'm not part of the Fire Nation anymore. I'm fighting as part of the Link Joker Army,"

With that, she fired off two large lightning bolts, shattering Zuko's cover.

"and soon enough, Zuzu, you will be too."

\- Loop Designation: Gokaiger -

"This isn't good, Marvelous." Joe said to his captain as the two fought a much stronger Barizorg.

"Tell me about it." Marvelous replied. For some reason the cyborg had a strange ring of energy floating behind him and some markings had appeared beneath his one visible eye.

"For Link Joker!" Barizorg declared as he rushed towards the two Gokaigers.

\- Loop Designation: Kingdom Hearts -

 _This isn't good,_ Mickey thought to himself, as he blocked another bolt of magic heading towards him and his friends. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Goofy dragging an unconscious Donald off to the side of the battlefield. Sickly green flames cut off all avenues of escape, and he couldn't get at his Subspace Pocket, so departure by Gummi Ship was right out. Internally, he was kicking himself for not having a second one ready to go.

He didn't know exactly how Maleficent got this powerful, or what was up with the red marks on either side of her face, but with his Looping abilities sealed and Sora and the others nowhere to be found, he wasn't taking any chances.

Maleficent cackled at the display of concern Mickey and Goofy were showing for their fallen comrade. "Do not concern yourself, you poor fools. Soon, he'll have gained power beyond his wildest imagining, as my apprentice..."

 _You wish, you horrible old hag!_ Mickey thought grimly. Out loud, he asked, "Well, how did you get this strong in the first place? I _know_ you're just dying to tell us, so go on! Indulge yourself!"

"It's simple," she purred. "I was blessed with this strength by my new master, Link Joker. I will drown the worlds in Heartless, and claim Kingdom Hearts in his name! Together, we will create a new, glorious world, where the powers of _darkness_ are TRIUMPHANT!"

Mickey hefted his Keyblade and moved to strike, when suddenly, Goofy pointed at Maleficent. "Hey, hold on a second. How did Link Joker give you that power in the first place?"

Maleficent's expressions soured. "I was a fool. I tried to manipulate him into becoming my servant, but he turned the tables on me. That is the only thing that cheapens my inevitable victory over you: that I had to resort to a _consolation prize_ to do it."

"So...you got those crazy markings because you lost a battle of wits with this Link Joker feller?"

"Yes," she ground out. "Now, what is your point, you buffoon?"

Goofy rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, maybe we can resolve this all peaceful-like with a game."

Maleficent raised her staff to smite the impudent dogface, but the idea of humiliating her opponent even further appealed to her on some level. "You have my interest, worm. What are your terms?"

"A-hyuck! It's easy! I'll ask you three questions. If you can answer all three of them, then we'll surrender. If you miss even one, then you let us go free."

Mickey just stared agape at Goofy. _What was he DOING?! Doesn't he realize what's at stake?!_

Maleficent smirked. "Clearly, you must not think very highly of your freedom. Very well. I accept your... _challenge_. Ask your questions."

Goofy nodded. "Okay! Question number one: What...is your name?"

Mickey suppressed the urge to groan. He could tell where this was going.

Maleficent just stared at Goofy. "You would make a fine court jester in my new kingdom." she said flatly.

"Just answer the question, ma'am."

Maleficent snorted. "I am Maleficent, queen of darkness, and commander of the Heartless legions!"

Goofy seemed entirely unperturbed. "Question two: What...is your quest?"

This time, Mickey really did groan. _Maybe I should just stab myself with my Keyblade, and get it over with._

Maleficent spread her arms wide. "To make the worlds succumb to Darkness, and rule over them in Link Joker's name!"

Goofy's expression didn't change a whit. Mickey shuffled away from Donald, so he didn't get any blood on him when he stabbed himself. He pointed the Keyblade at his heart, and closed his eyes. _I'm sorry it had to go this way, Mins. I'll make it up to you next Loop._

"Okay, Miss Maleficent," Goofy drawled. "This is your last question. What...is the capital of Assyria?"

Maleficent confidently opened her mouth to answer, before suddenly stopping short. "What?"

Mickey opened one of his eyes a crack. _Wait, what?_

At first, Maleficent could only stare at Goofy in surprise. She slowly turned away from the Disney Loopers, while appearing deep in thought. Mickey thought that he could hear her mumbling under her breath.

For a few moments, the only movement throughout the clearing was the dancing flames.

Presently, Maleficent's shoulders began to shake. A low growl began to build in her throat. Goofy grinned.

Suddenly, Maleficent spun around. "You wretched, flea-bitten, mangy, misbegotten mutt!" she snapped. "Fine. I concede. What is the answer?"

Goofy shrugged. "Heck if I know, ma'am. That's why I asked you! A-hyuck!"

Maleficent snarled in unbridled rage, raising her staff high, and beginning to chant some black incantation. Mickey felt as much as saw the tremendous ball of magical fire gathering at the tip of her staff. "Oh, this is going to hurt," he whispered to himself.

Then, the ball of fire fizzled out, and Maleficent suddenly staggered, holding her head with her spare hand "Urgh...what is happening...?" she groaned.

Suddenly, the red marks on her cheeks vanished in a puff of dark smoke, and the fiendish aura that was surrounding Maleficent up until this point winked out of existence. When she recovered enough to glare at the Disney Loopers, here eyes had their natural pupils again, and she held herself like the proud dark sorceress that she was.

"If you tell anyone about what has transpired here tonight, your suffering will be legendary even within the bowels of hell," she hissed, before vanishing in a burst of green flame. The fire surrounding the battlefield died down almost immediately.

"Well," Goofy drawled, "I guess that takes care of that."

Mickey slow got to his feet, and shuffled over to Goofy. "Goofy?" he croaked.

"Yeah, Mickey?"

"I don't know whether to strangle you or hug you, so I'm going to settle for a chokehold."

"Yeah, that sounds fair."

When Donald finally regained consciousness, he saw Mickey holding Goofy in a rather uncomfortable-looking headlock while shouting angry-sounding gibberish. He decided not to ask.

\- Loop Designation: Yu-Gi-Oh -

Of course, given that this started on Thoth's terminal, one would assume the Loopers having the most trouble with it would be those of the Yugioh Branches...

-x-x-x-x-

"Exodia, Obelisk, Slifer, Ra, OBLITERATE!"

-x-x-x-x-

"I use Diffusion Wave Motion with my Neos Wiseman! Attack all of them!"

-x-x-x-x-

"Even without my Stardust cards you Яeversed don't stand a chance! Junk Warrior, Nitro Warrior, Turbo Warrior, Road Warrior and Drill Warrior, unleash the power of warriors past and present!"

-x-x-x-x-

"Shining Number 39: Utopia Prime, unleash your special ability."

"It's a good thing they fight in crowds, huh Astral?"

"I sincerely doubt they could beat us regardless."

-x-x-x-x-

One would be wrong.

\- Loop Designation: Ah! My Goddess - _(Yggdrasil Service Branch)_ -

Admins everywhere were bolting to their terminals. Viral activity had been identified in nearly 200 worlds already, and more cases were being confirmed by the minute. While most veteran Loopers (and some rookies) were able to stem the tide, the fact that this virus had gotten in and begun Locking everything down was a terrifying thought.

The Valkyries and other warriors had been sent to contain the Loopers native to the Host World; while Admins seemed to be resistant to infection, it was a sobering thought that the world could be infiltrated at all.

Quetzalcoatl glanced at the area around his terminal. Everyone was busy attending to their Loops, but it wouldn't last for long. Determination set on his scaly face, he opened a browser and began to type.

 _»ACCESS PROFILE:_ "Aichi Sendou"

 _»ACCESS PROFILE: "_ Armeth (Blaster Blade)"

 _»»WARNING: LOOP HAS BEEN QUARANTINED. CONTINUE? Y/N_

 _»»»YES._

 _»»PROFILE: ANCHOR CANDIDATE_ "Aichi Sendou" _. PROFILE: SOUL-BONDED ANCHOR CANDIDATE_ _"_ Armeth (Blaster Blade)"

 _»ACTIVATE LOOP AND CANDIDATES; RUN BASELINE LOOP FROM POINT 160._

 _»»» **WARNING: INVALID OPERATION. CONTACT MODERATOR "**_ **Void Agent** _ **" FOR ASSISTANCE.**_

 _»DESIGNATE PRIMARY CANDIDATES AS ANCHOR_

 _»»ACCESS GRANTED. CANDIDATES "_ Aichi Sendou _" AND_ _"_ Armeth (Blaster Blade)" _DESIGNATED SOUL-BONDED ANCHORS._

 _»RUN BASELINE LOOP POINT 160_

 _»»ACCESS GRANTED. WARNING: POSSIBLE INFECTION OF ALL ACTIVE LOOPS BY VIRAL ENTITIES "_ LINK JOKER. _"_

 _»_ _CONTINUE? Y/N_

 _»»YES._

 _»LOOP DESIGNATION:_ "Cardfight! Vanguard" _ACTIVATED. RUNNING FROM POINT 160._

 _-x-x-x-x-_

» **TIME UNTIL LINK JOKER UNIT INFILTRATION - 59:32:71**

The wind screamed around the two Cardfighters, echoing the mood inside Aichi. From below the skyscraper and from within it, those who remained un-Яeversed watched and anxiously awaited the outcome of the fight.

"You won't let it continue? Ah ha ha ha! You crack me up, Sendou. Really, what chance do you have at surviving in this battle? You're already strained from losing to Kai; one false move and that ever-so noble heart of yours will give out." The Agent laughed, amused to no end by Aichi's heroics. "In fact, it might be fun to watch you writhe around in agony before taking your last precious breath."

Aichi shook his head, his mouth set in a grim line and his eyes clear and focused. "That won't happen. I won't give you the satisfaction of my failure." What Aichi didn't say was that the strain on him had mysteriously vanished at the moment Ren had fallen. He supposed that it was related to the reason why the world had gone white; why the Яeverse deck that the Agent was using was completely different.

"Anyways, it's my turn. Stand and Draw!" Aichi glanced at the card he'd drawn; Fortune Liberator. The shield of **10,000** would likely come in handy later. "I ride the Liberator of Silence, Gallatin!" The blindfolded knight took Mark's place on the battlefield, stalwartly glaring at his enemies. "And I'll call the Liberator of Royalty, Phallon to the Rear-Guard!" Phallon stood on Gallatin's right, ready to leap into battle.

Aichi turned Phallon's card horizontal. "I'll attack Stelgar with Phallon! And Phallon's skill activates: when he attacks, if my Vanguard has Liberator in its name, he gains 3000 Power!"

 **Phallon – 12,000 Power**

 **Stelgar – 8000 Power**

The Void Agent waved his hand nonchalantly. "Whatever. I won't even bother guarding that; thanks for clearing up my playing field."

Aichi refused to be swayed by the Agent's words. "Next, I'll attack Chandra with Gallatin. Go!"

The swordsman struck at the fire-haired woman, only to be halted by a fish of some kind. "I guard with Hunter Fish Яeverse!"

 **Shield – 10,000 + 9000**

Aichi scowled and checked his top card, only to find disappointment. "No Trigger; I end my turn." He hadn't managed to deal any damage this turn, hopefully he would be able to hold out a while longer.

Void stood his Vanguard and drew a card, smiling all the while. "Now it's time to end this battle! I Ride Great Sphinx, Thenien Яeverse!"

This Unit wasn't like the others. While the others had only had the crimson markings of the Яeversed to denote their status, Thenien was clad in black and white armor; black rings gleamed red around his wrists and ankles. And his eyes… they shone with an eerie red light, eyes that were all-consuming and piercing.

"Next I'll Call Phelphor Яeverse!" A weird red fishman took up the Agent's left front position, seemingly normal aside from the markings. "Thenien's skill activates: when I call a Unit with Яeverse in its name to the Rear-Guard, I can Lock one of your Units! Say goodbye to your Phallon! _Lock!_ "

Aichi covered his eyes as bolts of red lightning flipped Phallon's card over, completely sealing the knight's power and abilities. On the field, Phallon was encased inside twin black rings that gleamed red and spun like a gyroscope.

The Void Agent's face was deranged at this point. "Do you want to know what happens when Thenien's skill Locks a unit?" He began to laugh; a croaking laugh that was disturbing to hear. "Thenien's second skill activates! He gets 2000 Power for every Locked Unit you have in play!"

The Sphinx roared and brandished twin khopeshes – ancient Egyptian swords – above his head.

"Thenien! Attack his Gallatin, boosted by Van Bloot Яeverse!"

 **Thenien – 19,000 Power**

Aichi quickly placed Fortune Liberator onto the Guardian Circle. "I Guard!"

 **Shield – 10,000 Power + 10,000 Power.**

The Void Agent sneered. "I'm checking the Twin Drive. First Check." Another Dractyl, like earlier. "No Trigger. Second Check."This time it was a small green man in a purple robe. "No Trigger. I end my turn."

Aichi sighed in relief. What with the Grade 3 Twin Drive ability, Thenien had the opportunity to deal massive damage; it seemed that he'd dodged a bullet there.

"I Stand and Draw." Aichi checked over his cards. He had a good Grade 3, but… it was better to save that one for later. A trump card, just in case the Agent had Omega Glendios like last time.

"I Ride Liberator of Bonds, Gancelot Zenith!" The blonde warrior appeared astride his Pegasus steed, prepared to strike down his foe. "And I'll Call a second Gancelot to the Rear Guard!"

Aichi rested the Rear Guard Gancelot. "I'll attack your Phelphor Яeverse with Gancelot!"

The Agent glanced over his cards, considering his options. "I choose to not guard." Covering his face with a hand, he watched as his fishman was destroyed.

Aichi moved his hand to his Vanguard. "And now I'll attack with my other Gancelot! Target Thenien!"

 **Gancelot – 11,000 Power**

Void acted quickly, brandishing two cards. "I'll guard with Dractyl and Bodal! The two units appeared in front of Thenien; although Dractyl was threatening, the green man… wasn't.

 **Shield – 10,000 + 10, 000**

Aichi sucked in a breath. "Checking the Twin Drive; first check… no trigger. Second check…" once again, the corner was blank. "No trigger. I end my turn."

The bolts of lightning keeping Phallon sealed vanished. Void's Agent noticed and donned a smug expression. "Even if your Phallon is Unlocked, it won't do anything to help you!" A grim thought seemed to come to him. "Just like you won't be able to do anything to help your friends."

Aichi braced himself; the last time _(if there even had been a last time)_ they had fought, the Agent had tried to break the young defender by convincing him that his actions would doom Kourin; what tricks would he pull this time?

"Look at them; they struggle without end, without light. How could you let them suffer like that? Wouldn't it be better to let them forget it all? It won't matter under Link Joker. The world will be a silent place; a place without war or suffering. All will be equals. Isn't that what you want for the world? Isn't that what many humans are striving for?"

Aichi shook his head. "You might make everyone equals, but they wouldn't be individuals. And besides, I've seen what happens to someone with enough will under Яeverse. _(Kamui… Naoki, Shingo, so many people…)_ They become consumed by their troubles; it's better to live with them under the surface than to have to deal with them all the time. And you said before that you enjoy suffering – you'd keep them consumed by those emotions just because it would please you."

Void's Agent shrugged, his eyes closed and a small smirk on his face. "Perhaps. Perhaps not. Either way…" He opened his eyes and narrowed them at Aichi. "We'll have to see what happens, won't we? Stand and Draw!"

-x-x-x-x-

Skuld burst into the room where Quetzalcoatl was holed up, startling the feathered serpent badly. "Look, I know what you're going to say. I know that it's against the rules to Activate a Quarantined Loop or to set an Anchor for it. But right now it's the only hope we've got!"

Skuld leveled her spear at the intern. "You've got 20 seconds to explain."

Quetzalcoatl drew a breath. "There's a parasite known as Void; it created an agent and sent it to invade Earth and a planet called Cray in baseline. If the Anchor beats the Agent in a Cardfight, then the effects of Яeverse will disappear across all of the Loops. We can then extract the virus that infected this Loop in the first place and we can end this whole debacle."

Skuld looked at him with an expression of disdain for a long moment. At last, she spoke. "Can you ensure that you get the virus? Or the Anchor's victory?"

The deity's answer was immediate. "Yes."

The Norn of the Future sighed. "We'll discuss your punishment when this is over."

Quetzalcoatl saluted her and turned back to his terminal, scanning the code and awaiting the signal that Aichi had won.

Skuld spoke under her breath, almost too quiet to hear. "You had better be right… for the sake of everyone who lives."

-x-x-x-x-

The Agent drew his card and briefly glanced at it. "I call Odu-Bathax Яeverse! And I think that I'll seal away that precious Rear-Guard Gancelot. _Lock!_ "

Aichi flinched as his Rear-Guard was flipped over. He could recover from this. It was just a matter of how.

The Agent turned Thenien sideways, followed by Van Bloot. "I attack your Vanguard Gancelot with Thenien!"

 **Thenien – 19,000**

 **Gancelot – 11,000**

Aichi glanced over his cards. He had nothing to guard with, and Phallon's Intercept – to move to the Guardian Circle – wouldn't be enough. "I don't Guard." This was going to hurt.

"Checking the Twin Drive." Void pulled the first card off his deck. "Stand Trigger. Power to Odu-Bathax, and I'll Stand Van Bloot."

Aichi frowned. The agent wouldn't stand Thenien? Then again, without Van Bloot and with only one Lock, perhaps he thought he wouldn't get through. Maybe Thenien lost his Twin Drive once Stood. It had happened before.

"Second Check… No Trigger." The Agent frowned. It was good to see that he had an expression other than manic smiles.

Aichi drew a card to check the damage; a Draw Trigger. "All Power to Gancelot." At least this would hold off Odu-Bathax. "I draw one card." Aichi checked the card… and his heart almost stopped. It had come at the perfect time. An old friend…

The Agent sighed. "We're getting so close to the end… I attack Phallon with Odu Bathax!"

Aichi looked up, startled by the attack. "I – no guard!" With dismay, he placed Phallon into the Drop Zone.

The Agent smiled and leveled two fingers at Aichi. "Next turn, I'm going to defeat you. It's as simple as that."

Aichi ignored the comment and focused on the field in front of him. "Stand and Draw." He glanced briefly at the card; this one would be useful. But first…

"Arise, my Avatar! Call! Blaster Blade Liberator!"

Aichi's voice was full of conviction and strength; as the white-clad warrior appeared, the entire mood of the battle seemed to shift. Aichi's Vanguard seemed to sit up straighter upon his steed, and even the sealed Gancelot pulsed with energy.

The Agent stumbled backwards before regaining composure. "Even with Blaster Blade, you won't win! I'll succeed! I promise!"

Aichi wasn't done. "Next, I'll call May Rain Liberator, Bruno to the Rear Guard!" The youthful archer took up his position behind Blaster Blade, ready to fight. Aichi rested Blaster Blade and Bruno's cards. "I attack Thenien with Blaster Blade, Booster by Bruno! Bruno's Skill: If my Vanguard has Liberator in its name, he gains 3000 power!"

 **Blaster Blade – 19,000**

The Agent hastily checked his cards, before declaring his position. "No Guard." With a grimace as Thenien was hit, he checked the Damage. "No Trigger…" Silently, he placed the card into his damage zone with the other two. It was the first Damage that Aichi had dealt since the beginning; with Blaster Blade on his side, things were looking up.

"Next, I'll attack with my Vanguard Gancelot!"

This time the Agent acted quickly. "I Guard!" He placed a Hunter Fish Яeverse into the Guardian Circle.

 **Shield – 10,000 + 10, 000**

Aichi didn't blink. "Checking the Drive Trigger. First Check… no Trigger. Second Check… No Trigger."

The Agent breathed an audible sigh of relief before resuming his manic façade. "And with that, your turn ends, am I correct?"

Aichi nodded. Whatever happened next turn, he was certain that this battle was drawing to a close. With his declaration, his Rear-Guard Gancelot UnLocked.

"Then I Stand and Draw." The Agent looked at the card he'd drawn and then at his hand. "I Call Milla'iin Яeverse and Phelphor Яeverse to the Rear-Guard. And with Thenien's Skill, I'm going to seal away your " _Avatar"_ and Gancelot. _Lock!_ " He leveled two fingers at Aichi, signaling the seal.

Aichi watched with horror as the white warrior's card was flipped over and rendered unusable. He had seen this coming, but… Blaster Blade was as close to him as any of his other friends. They had fought together for so long, and to see him sealed… it brought up the bitter taste of the Asia Circuit's prelude. Of when Void had sealed away three of the major clans, including Blaster Blade.

"Oh, did I hurt your feelings?" The agent's voice was simpering and full of false remorse. "I'm sorry, I should have JUST DESTROYED HIM!"

Aichi refused to tremble. _(Please, wait just a little longer. I know we can beat him.)_ He fixed his gaze upon the Agent, refusing to bend or break in front of the mad parasite.

"Oh well, I'd better continue my turn. I attack your Vanguard with Milla'iin, boosted by Phelphor!"

Aichi kept his gaze level. He had nothing that could defend him; all of his cards could only intercept – which meant that they had to be in the front row. "No Guard. Checking the Damage: No Trigger." That brought him to four. Only two more and he would lose. And he absolutely couldn't lose.

"Next, I'll attack your Vanguard with Thenien, boosted by Van Bloot!" The Agent knew that he was almost there. Almost at the point of victory, and he was preparing to gloat already.

"No Guard." Aichi could only hope that he either got a heal trigger – which would let him remove one damage – or that the Agent wouldn't get a trigger at all.

The Agent eagerly ripped the cards from his deck. "First Check – no trigger. Second Check – no Trigger?!"

Aichi breathed a sigh of relief. "Checking the Damage – No Trigger." He was now at five. He absolutely had to win on his next turn. There was no escaping it; he didn't think that he would be able to hold out much longer.

"My Turn. Stand and Draw."

Aichi looked at his hand; it was time. He'd saved this card for just such a moment, and now it was the only option.

"Descending from the Throne, he takes his place with his knights! Ride! Liberator, Monarch Sanctuary Alfred!"

The Agent's face turned into a mask of horror. "No! It can't be! And I don't have… I won't lose to you!" He was screaming now, his voice raw with the effort. "DO YOU HEAR ME? I WON'T LOSE!"

Aichi stood firm. "Alfred's Limit Break! If I have five damage, I can Counter Blast three" - here he flipped over three of the cards in his Damage Zone – "and Soul Blast two" – and now he took two of the cards beneath Alfred and placed them into the drop zone – "in order to send all of my Locked units to the top of my deck."

The red lightning binding Gancelot and Blaster Blade was shattered, and he placed them on the dictated spot.

"Then I can draw five cards from the top of the deck, and call them to the Rear Guard. Any cards I don't call get sent to the bottom of the deck!"

He drew five cards, and placed four of them onto the Rear Guard Circles surrounding Alfred. "I Call Gancelot, Blaster Blade, Halo Liberator Mark, and May Rain Liberator Bruno!"

By this point, the Agent was frozen with shock. He was going to lose. All of this… gone. It was impossible. An Earthling shouldn't be able to beat him!

Aichi rested two cards. "I attack your Vanguard with Gancelot, Boosted by Bruno!"

The Agent was stunned. He looked at his cards, a defeated look on his face. "No Guard." Checking the damage, he glared at the green heal Trigger facing him. "Heal Trigger; it doesn't apply because you have more damage than me. But Power to Thenien!" That was four.

Aichi rested Alfred. "I attack with Monarch Sanctuary Alfred!" Once again, The Agent didn't guard. "Checking the Twin Drive: First Check, Draw Trigger. Second Check, no Trigger." The agent reluctantly checked the damage; nothing was there to save him. That was five.

Aichi took a deep breath. If this went through, it would all be over at last. "I attack with Blaster Blade, boosted by Mark!"

The agent screamed as the sword of legend cleaved through Thenien like butter, destroying the vanguard and all of Link Joker's ambitions with it.

» **0:0:09 – TIME UNTIL LINK JOKER INVASION.**

»» **LINK JOKER DEFEATED. INVASION HALTED.**

-x-x-x-x-

Quetzalcoatl sprang into action, furiously reaching into the code. With Link Joker defeated, the virus would be stunned long enough for him to extract it.

A tense few minutes followed; the clack of the keyboard and the click of the mouse were all that could be heard. They seemed to echo down the hall and throughout the Host World.

"Done. The virus has been completely eradicated." The announcement was met with shouts of relief and tears of joy from the Admins who had spent many long hours – perhaps days; it was hard to tell – keeping the Loops under their jurisdiction from complete destruction.

Skuld released her breath, and turned to Quetzalcoatl. "It has to be quarantined again. Right now, we can't afford for Void to Loop somehow. And we have no idea if it could infect someone past a Loop. You know this."

The serpent deity shook his head. "With all due respect ma'am, that's not entirely true."

Skuld narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

Quetzalcoatl. opened up a page of text on his now virus-free terminal. "As you can see, the baseline extends far beyond the point that the Anchors Looped from. Including the fact that Void's threat was effectively nullified and set for redemption."

Skuld's face was unreadable. "Go on."

The feathered serpent scratched his head with his tail. "In fact, it's the reason why Aichi Sendou was able to fight without the Яeverse affecting him, even though he should have at that point."

Skuld sighed. "I'll bring this before the higher ups, but… "She massaged the bridge of her nose. This was almost too much to tolerate. "If they agree to keep it online, you're the one who'll have to take care of them. You fixed it, you deal with it."

Quetzalcoatl nodded. "Um… may I explain to them what happened? You know, since… everything."

Skuld nodded. "Ten minutes only. That's it."

-x-x-x-x-

Aichi breathed a sigh of relief. The Agent had been defeated and was now gone from this world, and the ring overhead was breaking up. Kai stood beside him, free of the Яeverse; the two had almost fought, though Aichi had been able to talk some sense into his friend before that had happened.

"Are you coming? Or are you going to stand and watch that thing all day?" Kai spoke to him as he began to head for the stairs.

Aichi blinked. "What? Oh, yeah. Coming."

And then the world blinked white. Slowly, a mighty feathered serpent materialized in front of the two Earthlings. Aichi took a step back; was this some new invasion?

The serpent bowed its head, and looked at them with eyes that had seen the rise and fall of countless lifetimes. "Greetings, young ones. I am Quetzalcoatl; god of Merchants, Arts, Crafts and Wisdom."

Kai stepped forward. "If you're a god, then did you come to punish me?" Aichi frowned; it seemed that getting Kai to accept the whole "no punishing yourself" thing might take a while.

The great serpentine deity shook his head. "No. I am here to thank Aichi Sendou, and Armeth – called Blaster Blade."

"Thank us? Wait – he has a name? I didn't know his name?" Aichi felt horrible; Blaster Blade was close to him, and yet he didn't even know his friend's name? How could he live with that?"

The serpent laughed, a deep and welcoming rumble compared to the Agent's twisted laughter. "You could not have known, for how could he tell you?" He cleared his throat, and noticed that the building was close to collapse. With a flick of his tail, a glowing platform appeared beneath them. "But yes, to thank you. Without your actions, countless worlds would have been lost today,"

He sighed, and gazed for a moment at the horizon. "This world, and all others, are linked like a great tree. All that comprises the world – each cell, each stone or star – is contained as data within this tree – a computer named Yggdrasil. I believe you are familiar with such a concept?"

Aichi nodded. One of his first cards was the Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine. A Grade 0 Unit with a heal Trigger. The computer thing was interesting though.

Kai spoke up. "So what, we're computer programs? What happens if there's a virus? What happens then?"

Quetzalcoatl rose to his full bulk. "That is why I must thank you. You see, countless eons ago something happened to Yggdrasil, something that damaged it so terribly that we had to place the various worlds into repeating loops. This would stabilize things until we could repair the World Computer. While we were doing repairs, we noticed that your world had been infected by a virus. Thus, we quarantined it until it could be fixed. However, my mentor uncovered your world accidentally, and tried to start it up. This activated the virus, which by that point had fused with what you know as Link Joker. The virus broke into our terminals, and as a result, Link Joker and Яeverse were spread throughout the various Looping worlds."

Aichi was horrified. "What happened? Is everyone okay? Is the Яeverse gone from there, or do we have to fight it everywhere? What -"

The deity raised his tail to silence Aichi. "Many Loopers – those who are aware of the repeating time – fought and won against the Яeverse. Several even were able to throw off the effects. But no-one who was Awake has escaped unscathed. Even several of us gods – known colloquially as Admins – have suffered."

He paused, as if unsure as to how to tell the next part. "So I did the only thing I knew would work. I unsealed the quarantine, and brought your world online. I was unable to access your world directly, and I suspect that the virus only allowed me to do so in order to spread the Link Joker Units around the Loops like some sort of spam."

Kai narrowed his eyes. "So you used him. You used Aichi to freeze the virus long enough to stop it. What if he had lost? What if he had failed?"

The great serpent bowed his head. "If I had been able, I would have lent all the aid I could. I am truly sorry that you had to fight alone, that I put so much pressure on you."

Aichi shook his head. "Whether or not you asked me, if I had known or not – I still would have fought." He brought one hand to his chest. "But… I think that I would have been more worried if I had known. I might have had a harder time." Something occurred to the young defender, and he perked up his head. "Wait… the deck that Link Joker used… were the cards from other worlds?"

Quetzalcoatl nodded. "Yes, they were. From worlds that, like yourselves, contain the presence of powerful cards." He smiled warmly, "Aichi Sendou, and Armeth: Thank you, from the bottom of my heart for what you have done. Thank you for saving us."

Kai walked to the end of the platform and looked at the horizon. "I suppose that now that we're 'online' as you put it, we'll remember the resets?"

The serpent shook his head, feathers ruffling in a quiet breeze. "No. I am under examination for Activating your Loop in the first place; I couldn't tell you when your world will next reset. As well, only one person is ever aware of all the Loops. This person is called an Anchor; they are a presence that stabilizes the world and ensures its continued survival. Sometimes two are chosen as Anchors if they are close enough; Aichi and Armeth are the Anchors for this world. I cannot tell you when you will next Awaken, but generally people who are close to the Anchor begin to Loop sooner than others."

He glanced at an unseen clock. "I'm afraid my time is nearly up. Soon the Loop will end, and from there…" he sighed. "On the bright side, if your Loop is kept active beyond this point, I will be assigned as your Administrator. I will be there to watch over you, and to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again."

Aichi smiled at the serpent. "Thank you for watching out for us. Until we next meet?"

Kai smirked. "Let's hope that things don't get that bad."

The world went white, and everything began to fade.

-x-x-x-x-

Aichi Awoke to Mark-Sensei talking about a great battle – he couldn't quite remember what it was about, but one thing was for certain – it seemed that time was Looping after all. He was back to the day he had first battled Kai, the day everything had begun.

Glancing at his notebook, he was amused to see a doodle of a feathered serpent, with the words "Safe!" written beside it.

It was a new dawn, and the start of many new adventures.

* * *

16.1 – Achievement Unlocked! Major Loop Event: Яeverse the Loops


	17. Chapter 17

17.1 – (Me, Dimension Drift)

[Code Geass/Ace Attorney]

Phoenix Wright gazed through the one-way window at his client. His beaten, manacled, and shock-collared client. What the hell were they _thinking_ , treating a _kid_ like that?

Ah, but this was a colony of _Britannia,_ where the _strong_ ruled. Phoenix couldn't stop the grimace from working its way onto his face.

He'd spent his entire life—his entire _lifetimes_ —defending the innocent from those that would oppress them, would abuse them, would use them as shields to protect their own dirty dealings. They may have been powerful, they may have wielded influence, but they had to at least _pretend_ to follow the straight and narrow, because the system and country ultimately _believed_ in those ideals, in justice and fairness and "innocent until proven guilty", however poorly those ideals may be implemented. To find himself in a country where such abuses were not just _commonplace,_ but _applauded;_ to live in a world where being weak was _itself_ the biggest crime of all... It was absolutely _nauseating._

At least his former self in this world had, apparently, managed to see past that, and live much as he himself did... although that may have had to do with how he himself was treated with suspicion. He was pure-blooded Britannian in this world, was even born in the homeland, but he _looked_ like he could be Japanese (whoops, sorry, _Eleven_ ), so he'd apparently lived under quite a cloud since moving here, having to fight for what was given to those that were clearly _Britannian._ Ugh.

Fortunately, he _had_ fought, and had apparently assembled a fair reputation for himself. As such, when they'd arrested Suzaku Kururugi about a week after Phoenix had woken up, he'd been able to ask to see Lord Jeremiah Gottwald, and politely ask (no matter how much we wanted to demand) the chance to defend the boy. Gottwald had been suspicious at first, but had ultimately agreed after seeing Phoenix's record.

Phoenix had read through Gottwald's attitude towards the end, though. Gottwald was convinced that Suzaku would be found guilty. That was probably part of why he'd let Phoenix represent Suzaku—let the guy who looked Eleven take the blow of defending a prince-killer, rather than someone obviously Britannian. But this wasn't the usual "the guy's guilty, you're just gonna end up proving that" attitude he got from guards, prosecutors, witnesses, etc. This was "he's gonna be guilty, no matter what you bring to court".

Phoenix knew all about _that_. It was Redd White all over again... No, that wasn't fair. It was _worse._ Redd White had lost because he'd had to save face, had to hide what he was doing _._ This _was_ about saving face, about quickly finding a "killer" to mollify the Britannian public. It was the very definition of "kangaroo court". They wouldn't _care_ about if Suzaku was innocent on not, they would only care about finding _someone_ guilty.

...Find a killer that had managed to infiltrate one of the most secure vehicles in the country to kill the Prince, and then had eluded the entire nation's police _and_ military forces for over a week now. All in a day's work for Phoenix Wright.

With that thought, Phoenix relaxed and approached the cell door. He cracked a smile after the guard had checked him for weapons ( _again…_ ) and let him in. Hardest times, and all that.

Suzaku looked over at the new entry, then blinked a few times. Whatever he'd been expecting, an Eleven-looking man in a suit and tie clearly wasn't it. "Um...?"

"Hello, Suzaku Kururugi. My name is Phoenix Wright, defense attorney. I was hoping to represent you in your trial tomorrow."

Suzaku blinked again, before perking slightly. "You're going to defend me...?"

"If you want," Phoenix replied with a smile. "I mean, it's not like you were actually involved in Prince Clovis's death, right...?"

"N...No! Of course not! I never even went near his command center, never even fired _close_ to it! How could I have...?"

"Then that's all I need. I'd be happy to defend you," Phoenix said as his smile broadened. _No Psyche-Locks. I was right about this kid._

"Th...Thank you very much, Mr. Wright!"

"Please, call me Phoenix. Mr. Wright makes me feel old," Phoenix laughed. _Can't make him that comfortable in his state, but I'll do what I can._ "In that case, I'd like to ask you about what you were doing on the day Prince Clovis was murdered."

Suzaku was apparently feeling somewhat better now, as he nodded, then straightened up and faced Phoenix fully, his gaze strong and unflinching. "Of course! I was fighting off the terrorist forces in the Shinjuku ghetto."

Phoenix nodded. He'd heard about the attack on the news, and had read in Suzaku's dossier that he was enlisted in the Britannian forces as an Honorary Britannian. "So you were out fighting with your unit, then?"

He was mildly surprised when Suzaku fidgeted slightly, and the familiar rattle of Psyche-Locks rang as two appeared in front of him. "Well... at first I was, yes." The Locks faded away as Suzaku continued, "But after that, well... I'm not sure I'm allowed to say... but you can't serve justice if you don't know, so I'll tell you. For the main part of the battle, I was fighting alone, in the Lancelot."

Phoenix frowned. _Lancelot? Is that related to the Knights of the Round? ...Tackle that later._ "Did something happen while you were with your unit?"

 _Clang_ went the Psyche-Locks again, as Suzaku's gaze drifted to the side. "I was... shot, Mr. Wright."

 _...Wait,_ what!? "How did you survive!?"

"The bullet hit a pocket watch I was keeping in my vest pocket. It saved my life."

 _...Sounds like Suzaku has my kind of luck._ "...Can you tell me anything more about that, Suzaku?"

The Psyche-Locks remained, refusing to budge. "...I'm sorry, Mr. Wright. It's... private."

 _Why do my clients always have secrets they have to keep from me!?_ "Suzaku, look at me. Can you at least tell me it doesn't have to do with the prince's murder?"

The Locks finally faded away as Suzaku looked back at Phoenix, his gaze resolute once more. "I'm sure, Mr. Wright. That was long before Prince Clovis died, and I can guarantee it didn't have anything to do with his death."

Phoenix breathed a sigh of relief, the lack of Locks confirming Suzaku's assertion. _I don't like it, but... I guess I can leave it alone for now. I may need to come back to it later, though._ "All right then. So, after getting... shot... you were fighting in the... Lancelot?"

Suzaku grinned sheepishly. "Not _right_ after, I was out cold for a while, and then had to do a crash test on the controls. The Lancelot's a lot touchier than normal Knightmare Frames, or so Lloyd says."

 _...So it's a Knightmare Frame. Those things are kind of cool._ "The Lancelot is... special, then?"

An eager nod answered that question. "Yeah! It's a seventh-generation prototype! Lloyd said it was _incredible_ that I'm able to handle it, apparently most pilots don't have the skill or reflexes to do so."

Phoenix had no idea how far ahead "seventh-generation" was, but the statement still got his mind going. _A prototype? An Honorary Britannian handling a prototype of the most important weapon in Britannia's arsenal? ...Seems Suzaku wasn't just chosen as a random scapegoat._

Phoenix hid his thoughts with a smile. "That's very impressive. You should be proud."

The smile dimmed as Suzaku once again looked askance. "Well, yes, I'm very happy to be praised like that, but..." Suzaku looked back, but his eyes were... harder now. Focused. "It's not that important. I'm proud to fight in the Lancelot, not because it's impressive, but because it helps to stop the fighting."

Phoenix blinked slightly at the look in Suzaku's eyes. _That's an old outlook for a kid of... how old is he? Sixteen?_ "That's very mature of you, Suzaku. It must be very important to you, huh? Stopping the fighting."

"It's _stupid._ Fighting only brings death, destruction, and misery. I _get_ that the people don't like how things are, but you can't _fix_ things by _breaking them apart._ You have to work _with_ the system to make things better."

Normally Phoenix might have accepted such sentiment, agreed with it even. As it was, though, he was rather distracted... by the five _black Psyche-Locks_ that had _clanged_ into being as Suzaku spoke. "I... I see," Phoenix replied dumbly as he tried to settle himself. _What the hell_ happened _to this kid!?_

Any further thoughts on the matter were cut off as the cell door opened abruptly, revealing none other than Lord Jeremiah Gottwald himself. He nodded curtly at Phoenix, with a quick "I heard you were in here," before turning to Suzaku. "Up, boy. Time to get you to your... _trial._ " Turning back to Phoenix, he continued, "You'll be coming along, of course, Mr. Wright."

Phoenix frowned, "You told me the trial was _tomorrow._ "

A small smirk played across Lord Gottwald's lips. "Did I, now? My mistake. Terribly sorry about that."

 _Uh-huh. Next you'll be calling Suzaku "Japanese", you big softy, you._ "I'll go along with Mr. Kururugi. I still have some aspects of the case to go over with him."

Jeremiah's eyes narrowed as he turned back from where he'd been about to address Suzaku again. "I suppose you _could,_ but... you realize there will be armed guards around, yes? And the trip will not be terribly _suitable_ for conversation."

 _...Of course. They want to parade Suzaku in front of the public, make sure everyone knows they "caught the killer"._ "Regardless, I must insist, Lord Gottwald."

If anything, Jeremiah's eyes narrowed yet further. "You've been awfully _sympathetic_ to a suspected crown-killer, Mr. Wright."

An eyebrow was raised in reply. "He is my _client,_ Lord Gottwald. It is the _principle_ of the matter." _Technically true, although I mean something very different than what you think I mean by that._

Jeremiah just shook his head at that, but at least he wasn't glaring at Phoenix anymore. Apparently he assumed it to be some (presumably non-Britannian) empathetic quirk of his. "Fine, then. Get out – we need to get the accused out of his chains."

Phoenix nodded, deigned not to note Jeremiah's rudeness, and left the cell, allowing the guards outside to enter. As he waited, he thought on how he could never have just a _straight-forward_ client, but even then, black Psyche-locks meant that Suzaku was even less straight-forward than most. Still, it didn't ultimately matter. Suzaku was innocent of Prince Clovis's murder – that fact remained inviolate, and that was all Phoenix needed to keep defending him, regardless of Suzaku's personal issues.

And he damned well wasn't going to let Suzaku face the ravening hordes out there alone.

-x-x-x-x-

Lelouch Lamperouge sighed as he walked down the hallway. Next to him Kallen, in her school persona, was asking about her new role in the Student Council. Having long-since memorized the conversation, he only paid marginal attention as he gave his responses. Normally by now he would have started gathering the Black Knights and preparing to rescue Suzaku, but recently he had begun to surrender to ennui. When he had died and woken in the past, he made the mistake of thinking that he had somehow traveled back in time. However, after dying several times and returning to the same point in history, where it had all truly begun, he had finally come to a realization.

The Zero Requiem had been a complete success; with his death he had brought peace to the world, but at the cost of everlasting damnation. And yet this was a small price to pay in his mind to ensure a gentler world for his sister and friends. And all things considered, after forcing his will upon 'god', an eternity spent in Hell was of no real consequence.

Even so, no act can be maintained indefinitely, and that was the case now. He had had this discussion with Kallen exactly seven hundred and ninety four times. He had changed it in one hundred thirty eight different ways and cataloged each variation thereof. He had skipped it all together two hundred and eleven times. He had narrowed it down to a science how to subtly manipulate each thread of the conversation to the topic of choice.

No matter what he did, it was essentially meaningless. He had built this country into a shining utopia in two years. He had let it fall to ruin in one. He had conquered Britannia, sent his parents into the abyss and reduced the nobility to street urchins in eight hundred forty one unique manners. He had noted and accounted for every alteration, variation or modification of his original lifetime long ago. And now he was utterly bored.

Every action or undertaking was eventually wiped away when time reset. Regardless of what mistakes he made or how he improved upon his successes, without fail at the same point every time he would close his eyes and upon opening them find himself immediately returned to the same damnable truck in which he began every reiteration. In the end everything was ultimately without purpose.

He had been simply going through the motions for decades now. Only his sister still managed to bring him to full appreciation of the world around him. Only around Nunnally was he still able to feel like himself; to anyone else he was still the aloof honor student, or the charismatic leader.

In that vein he, without actual attention, turned the corner with Kallen at his side. In front of him were the Student Council and his sister, gathered around the large television. He had learned the exact rate of step he needed to take in order to arrive just as the announcer interrupted Jeremiah's speech, and as such he was exactly on time to see Suzaku being led in handcuffs through a crowd of Britannians.

"The man suspected as the murder has been captured. According to this report the suspect is an Honorary Britannian. Private Suzaku Kururugi, a former Eleven, has been arrested for the murder of Prince Clovis."

Having heard her brother enter the room, Nunnally turned with a stricken expression. "Oh, Lelouch, it's awful. Suzaku would never do something so terrible."

Shirley gave the younger girl a stunned look. "You know him, Nunna?"

Nunnally nodded sorrowfully. "Yes, when my brother and I first came here, Suzaku and his family were kind enough to take us in. He's one of the nicest people I've ever met. There's no way he would have killed Prince Clovis."

Milly turned a look on Lelouch, who nodded imperceptibly, before jumping in with her typical energy. "Well, if Nunnally says this Suzaku guy is innocent, then I for one believe her. I have half a mind to bust down those jerks' front door and teach them a lesson!"

Before any other comments could be made, the reporter spoke up again. "The trial of the suspect has been set for later this afternoon. He will be represented by Phoenix Wright, a Britannian Defense Attorney of some renown."

"Hey! I've heard of that guy, he was the one who defended the killer whale in that murder trial," Rivalz called out in surprise.

...What? While he was certain that Suzaku had been appointed a lawyer on the previous runs, this person was not the one he recalled; although to be fair it wasn't as if Lelouch typically paid much attention to that particular detail. Still, a Defense Attorney famous enough that even Rivalz of all people knew him? Something didn't add up here, and Lelouch very much intended to figure it out.

-x-x-x-x-

There were few things in the world that Phoenix hated more than injustice. As such the sham of a trial being set up put his teeth on edge. It didn't help that he was woefully unprepared, although admittedly that wasn't exactly uncommon.

The judge, if you could call the person seated at the bench such, was obviously less interested in the proceedings than in his attempts to flirt with the court clerk, a moderately attractive Britannian woman who was uninterested in either. He and Suzaku had been led into the court directly from the prison and Phoenix had been forced to stay silent until Lord Gottwald had left. At least the Margrave had enough respect for the system to stay behind the bar, leaving Phoenix and Suzaku to prepare.

Turning to face the worried soldier, Phoenix took a breath.

 _'Well, this isn't the worst situation I've ever gotten myself into. Somehow stuck in a completely different world, with an insane history and defending a soldier who fights in giant robots. Just another day for the Wright Anything Agency.''_

"Alright, Suzaku. While we still have time, is there anything else I need to know about what happened during the incident?"

Suzaku frowned, appearing to debate something to himself, before shaking his head. "Nothing that matters."

Seeing as there was no accompanying rattle of Psyche-locks at that statement, Phoenix nodded.

 _'I hope for both our sakes you're right.'_

-x-x-x-x-

For the first time in over a thousand years, a concept which still baffled him and increased his sympathy for what C.C. had suffered, Lelouch was faced with a completely unknown variable. It had been child's play to hack into the Britannian judicial records and look up the man known as Phoenix Wright. What he had found had left him with nothing but more questions.

While this wasn't the first time he had encountered a shift from his original history, it was by far the most unorthodox. The cases this man had been involved in were, at times, frankly ridiculous. What's more they frequently pertained to companies which he had never heard of.

Minor variations had occurred roughly every dozen repeats, and more major ones every few hundred, but this was the first time in memory in which entire portions of Britannian culture, infrastructure, and economy had drastically shifted so entirely as to be unrecognizable. The most alarming thing, however, was not the change: it was the fact that when he thought about the issues he clearly recalled specific details that he should have had no knowledge of. His memories had somehow been altered to possess information it had not had previously.

As someone who relied upon the clarity and accuracy of his mental acuity for every facet of his life, the idea was just short of horrifying. Only the knowledge that his 'father' had done so before and he had overcome it allowed him to avoid slipping into a mild panic. Taking a calming breath he considered his options.

His sometimes best friend was due to be tried and sentenced by the end of the day. Due to his previous lethargy he had completely missed his chance to contact Ohgi's cell. Even if he revealed himself to Kallen now, he still had no way of arranging things to free Suzaku in the normal time frame. C.C. hadn't yet shown herself at the Academy so any help from her was nonexistent.

He could easily locate the haberdasher who designed his Zero uniform and pull off a last minute rescue from the gallows, which had been his original plan, but with all of the new variables he wasn't as confident in his timing as he had been previously. And that was completely disregarding the unknown figure of this Phoenix Wright. What's more, the fact that there was a hitherto undetected element in this endless repetition of time worried him.

Not unduly so, however. He had after all managed to completely overcome any and all issues in the events of his rebellion in only a handful of tries, even when he had been caught off guard by unexpected factors. Nevertheless, the fact that something he had thought mastered was changing so late in the game led to the inevitable question of whether or not there would be further issues in the future.

Still, that was a problem for later. For now, he had to get in touch with Ohgi and the future Black Knights and plan his entrance onto the stage. Whoever this Phoenix person was, he was unlikely to be of much use to him. Or Suzaku for that matter. When the system itself was flawed, there was no other option but to destroy it and build it anew. And the Britannian Judicial System was one of the most flawed things he had ever dealt with. He doubted this new character would have any more luck.

-x-x-x-x-

 _'I hate my life.'_

Phoenix was not having a very good day. Granted his client was probably even worse off than he was, seeing as how said client was being used as a scapegoat for a murder he couldn't have committed.

The trial had started off... well, frankly, it had been the biggest charade he had ever taken part in. The Prosecution railroaded over his every attempt to prove his case, and the judge allowed it. The Witnesses had all been clearly fed their lines so as to build the case against his client. The audience, what little of it there was, had been handpicked for their lack of sympathy towards anything non-Britannian.

He was, to be completely honest, hanging by a thread, and everyone in the court knew it. Luckily he had one last hand left to play, one which had served him well over the years: Stalling for time and pressing the witness for any and every possible contradiction.

"General Bartley Asprius, you stated previously that you were present during the Shinjuku Incident."

The portly military man nodded his head in agreement.

"And yet, you cannot explain to the court how the accused was able to not only circumvent the combined might of the Britannian Military forces and the Prince's personal guards, but also murder the Prince and escape undetected. Where were you during the time this all occurred?"

Bartley shifted in his seat and nervously wiped his brow with his handkerchief.

"I—I, that is, I... can't recall the specifics of the event."

"Hold it! You mean to say that you are unable to remember the details of my client's alleged assassination of Prince Clovis, a man whom you were personally tasked with serving and protecting?"

"I—I, y—yes. Ask any of the others, none of the men aboard Prince Clovis' transport have any clear memory of the attack."

Phoenix smiled triumphantly and slammed his hands upon his table.

"Then I ask you, if you cannot recall the event in question... how can you positively identify my client as the murderer?!"

A wave of murmurs swept the audience, even their prejudiced minds unable to explain the obvious contradiction. The 'judge' slammed his gavel harshly upon the sound block, Phoenix wincing at the lack of care towards the symbol of judicial might. "Order, order in the court."

 _'Something tells me he has been waiting for a chance to say that.'_

"Objection!"

Phoenix turned to the speaker, the Prosecuting Attorney. Even seeing it with his own eyes, he still had trouble believing it. The man was a dead ringer for Manfred von Karma, right down to the disdainful smirk he wore. Even his name was the same, with the exception of apparently having a noble title to add to his overblown ego.

"Clearly the witness is suffering from stress-induced memory loss. However, I have here a notarized statement made immediately after the attack, which states in no uncertain terms that a person matching the description of the accused was seen fleeing the scene of the crime."

The judge nodded his head sympathetically. "And I assume that the testimony was verified at the time of the statement."

Von Karma crossed his arms over his chest and nodded his head with a smug smile. "Exactly so. The witness' apparent lack of memory is an unfortunate, but recent, circumstance which has no bearing on the current trial. Witness, you are relieved."

"Objection! I have not finished my cross-examination."

 _'And isn't the judge the one who's supposed to relieve the witness? I guess von Karma is the same in any world.'_

"Overruled! Witness, you may step down."

Nodding gratefully and wiping his forehead once again, Bartley quickly left the stand.

 _'Crap. Now what am I supposed to do? That was the last witness. I—I failed. Mia, Maya, Trucy, Apollo, Athena. I'm sorry.'_

Turning to face Suzaku, Phoenix was prepared to face anger, even hatred. Instead he found Suzaku staring at him with an understanding look.

"It's alright. You tried your best. It's probably better this way. At least now the people don't have to worry about an unknown murderer on the streets. And I'm sure the police will catch the real criminal before he can hurt anyone else."

Phoenix was speechless. That... that wasn't right. No one should be this calm about facing death for a crime they were innocent of. It was almost as if... no, that would be ridiculous. Nobody so young could possibly want to die. There had to be some other reason. However, before he could try and think any more on the subject, the judge took the time to remind him of the hopeless situation he was in.

"Very well. Seeing as how there are no other witnesses, I now believe I am ready to pass my verdict. For the crime of murder in the first degree, this court finds Suzaku Kururugi..."

"Hold it!"

For a moment Phoenix thought that maybe he had been the one to cry out, a desperate attempt to prevent the charade in front of him from continuing, before he realized the voice had come from behind him. He along with everyone else in the courtroom turned to face the speaker.

Said person was a man in a finely tailored outfit which resembled a blue and gold version of Edgeworth's suit, if Edgeworth was a masked villain from one of Maya's Steel Samurai episodes. The long cape and spiked helmet worked surprisingly well, and oddly reminded Phoenix of a chess piece.

Behind him a large crowd followed, the majority of which held recording equipment. The figure gave an elaborate bow as he spoke in a sardonic tone. "Permission to approach the bench, Your Honor."

The courtroom was quiet before the judge managed to find his voice. "Who the hell are you?"

Instantly the man straightened with a flourish. "I am glad you asked. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Zero, the man who killed Prince Clovis!"

Immediately the crowd broke out in an uproar, as they receded from the obviously deranged murderer. "I am here today to provide vital evidence in the court of law. I'm sure you would agree that my testimony is of relevance to the current case, would you not? And so I ask you once again, permission to approach the bench."

"Guards, arrest this man for the murder of Prince Clovis la Britannia!"

The guards in question made no move, simply standing at the side of the doorway. "Guards?! Guards!"

"Clearly these fine gentlemen wish to hear what it is I have to say. If you two would be so kind as to close the doors; this is after all a courthouse, not a theatre."

Without hesitation the men quickly moved to close and lock the doorway, as the self-proclaimed Zero strode down the aisle way and moved past the bar, before crossing the well to stand face-to-face with the judge. "Begin the trial."

The judge jerked minutely for a second, before slamming his gavel against the sound block. "The court will hear the testimony of the man known as Zero. The witness will take the stand."

Flinging his cape dramatically behind him, Zero seated himself and turned to face the courtroom.

"Very well, I am ready to begin."

 _'W—who is this person? If he just admitted to the crime, then why is he in the witness stand?'_

"Um, will the witness state his name for the court."

The masked person gave an expansive gesture with his arm. "Of course. I am Zero, the leader of the Black Knights."

 _'Okay... This guy's even more dramatic than Director Cosmos.'_

"I—I'm sorry, who?"

"The Black Knights are the ones who shall stand in judgment of this world. We of the Black Knights stand with those who have no weapons to wield, regardless of whether they be Britannians or Elevens!"

This statement was accompanied by a sweeping of his arms that set his cape in motion. The court was silent at this proclamation, the only sound being the cameras, which adjusted themselves to capture the broadcast.

Phoenix managed to find his voice. "I—I see. And you intend to do this through the use of force?"

"If violence is the only message with which our message may be spread, then we are prepared to face any who would face us. I will not repudiate battle on a fair and level field, but neither will I tolerate a one-sided massacre of the weak by the strong.

"Former Viceroy Clovis was punished for ordering the slaughter of countless unarmed Elevens. Likewise I will not stand by and allow such cruelty to be carried out elsewhere. Wherever oppressors abuse their power by attacking the powerless we shall appear again, no matter how mighty, how formidable our foe may be."

Suzaku rose to his feet in a fury, slamming his hands down upon the table. "That's insane! You can't just murder anyone who disagrees with you! The whole point of justice is to stand against that type of behavior."

"An admirable belief, but consider this. What does one do when there is an evil you cannot defeat by just means? Do you stain your hands with evil to destroy evil? Or do you remain steadfastly just and righteous even if it means surrendering to evil?

"As a knight of justice I cannot sit idly by and allow the suffering of innocents when it is within my power to bring peace. You should know full-well the burden of being falsely accused, Suzaku Kururugi."

Suzaku slammed his hands against the desk again. "That is beside the point. The system can be changed; there's no point to senseless fighting."

"That which is rotten must be torn aside. The system is corrupt. Bigotry, favoritism, elitism, prejudice. These are symptoms of the disease of arrogance, and like all diseases it must be ruthlessly eradicated."

Holding his hands up in a grasping motion, Zero clenched his fist.

"The Black Knights will provide the first line of defense against the spread of injustice. We will erase the sickness at its source, Britannia itself."

Phoenix finally managed to enter the debate. "Y—you can't be serious. You're speaking of revolution! You're only one man and you're trapped in this courthouse. You've admitted yourself that you were the one responsible for the murder of Prince Clovis."

Zero nodded magnanimously. "So I have. In fact I do believe that means that you have won your case, does it not? Your Honor, if you would be so kind?"

The judge, who had until this point stared unspeaking at the events which were unfolding, immediately slammed his gavel. "For the crime of murder in the first degree, this court finds Suzaku Kururugi...

" **Not Guilty."**

"Indeed, as I have admitted my guilt, Suzaku Kururugi is clearly innocent. And as I have stated before, I will not allow the innocent to be unjustly blamed for crimes which they have not committed.

"But my fight is not yet over, and as such I must take my leave. Perhaps when I have created a world in which the wicked no longer hold sway over the righteous I will throw myself upon the mercy of the court, but until such time I will stand and fight."

The doors of the courtroom suddenly tore from the wall, revealing a Gloucester Knightmare Frame surrounded by a small group of armed, black-uniformed people with visors concealing their faces. The Knightmare quickly reached forward over the spectators' heads and Zero stood and stepped upon its outstretched hand as it rose into the air.

"We of the Black Knights shall raise our voices in defiance of Britannia's tyranny."

Turning to face the cameras which were still broadcasting the debacle to the entire world, Zero spoke to those who were watching.

"Those of you with power: Fear us. Those of you without it: Rally behind us. Together we shall bring an end to this unjust world and usher in an era of peace and freedom for all people regardless of creed, race or nationality. This is the beginning of a new age for all mankind!"

With that the masked revolutionary and his army turned and sped through the opening, leaving an utterly silent courtroom full of people with no clue as to what had just occurred.

Turning to face Suzaku, Phoenix was confronted by the sight of the Honorary Britannian hunched over the table shaking in anger.

"Damn him, what he just did will lead to nothing but mindless bloodshed and meaningless hatred. Damn him. Damn him!"

 _'This is insane. What have I gotten myself into? I just want to go home.'_

-x-x-x-x-

Following the 'trial' and subsequent debut of the terrorist Zero, Phoenix found himself undergoing a good deal of investigation. Zero's escape following his departure had apparently been a rather drawn out affair and had resulted in the defamation of the Lord Jeremiah Gottwald.

As the man who had allowed him to take the case, it had called into question Phoenix's own reliability and as a result he had undergone an intense debriefing of the entire affair, starting from the moment he had first been contacted until Zero's escape. Luckily for him, his other self had seemed to be the same kind of man he himself was and as such there was nothing incriminating to be found.

Thus he found himself once more returning to his current office. Without his typical associates, however, it was little more than a room with a desk and file cabinet.

"I still don't understand how I ended up here. The last thing I remember is going to sleep in my bed, and then I suddenly awoke here. I don't even know where here is."

It was true, he had spent days trying to track down any clue which could have revealed his sudden wholesale appearance in this place, complete with a ready-made identity and history. However, in the end he had found nothing. As far as the world was concerned he had always been here. He had the paperwork to prove it.

As much as it had hurt to end up repeating his entire career over and over again, at least he had always before had the reassurance that his friends and family were still there. That wasn't the case here, however. While he had memories of a family from before he had arrived, they weren't his. They belonged to the Phoenix whom he had replaced.

And that was another thing which was bothering him. How did he remember things which had happened in a past he hadn't been there for? At this point the only thing he had were questions and no way of getting answers.

The sound of the elevator chiming drew him from his contemplation, and he straightened himself as a young man entered his office. He appeared to be in his late teens and had an air of confidence about himself. The fact that he wore a Gakuen uniform told him that he was a student, so he couldn't have been older than eighteen.

"Mr. Phoenix Wright? My name is Lelouch Lamperouge. I was wondering if I might have a moment of your time."

Phoenix quickly pushed his own problems to the side and straightened in his chair. "Of course, please take a seat."

"Thank you. I've come to you because I want to hire you for a case; however, before I do so I would like to be sure that I can trust you."

Phoenix did his best to project a sense of competence and reliability. "I can assure you, Mr. Lamperouge. Whatever you have to say to me will be held in the strictest of confidences."

The boy smirked and stared directly into Phoenix's eyes. "I'm sure it will be. Phoenix Wright, you will answer all of my questions!"

Phoenix barely had time to notice the symbol that had suddenly appeared in his would-be client's eyes before, with the sound of rattling chains and breaking locks, the world went crimson.

The first thing which Phoenix was aware of was darkness, an almost physically oppressive lack of light which surrounded him in every direction. This was immediately followed by a sense of weightlessness. Lastly, but not least of all, there was the silence. Total and absolute, not even the constant background sounds of his heartbeat and breathing present to disturb the endless quiet.

 **-Wha..where am I?-**

And suddenly there was light and sound, an ever shifting vortex of noises and images and shifting lines of green and blue and red and people and animals and plants and earth and yellow and white and men and women and children and...

Phoenix pulled back as if struck, distancing himself in whatever way he could from the sea of _other_. Despite seeming to be without a physical presence and thus not possessing lungs he had the impression of gasping as he retreated into himself.

 **-What was that?-**

Turning as best he could in his current state he tried to find a stable point to rest his mind. In the distance he noticed a point of light, from which a sense of familiarity came and he found himself moving without motion towards it. A timeless eternity later he found himself surrounded by a glowing radiance and then with the abruptness of a slamming door the world snapped into focus and he found himself in his office again as a voice spoke.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" He recognized the voice as belonging to the boy who had walked into his office before this whole situation had begun.

"My name is Phoenix Wright. I am a Defense Attorney. I was hired to represent Suzaku Kururugi." Phoenix gaped as he heard his own voice speaking, despite not having said anything. Turning his attention behind him where the words had come from, he could only gape at the sight which greeted him. Seated in his chair and staring blankly forwards, was himself.

In the other chair the boy who had introduced himself as Lelouch frowned. "Where are you from?"

"I came from Los Angeles."

Phoenix moved closer and shakily reached out his hand towards his body, only for it to pass through as if made of gas.

Lelouch's brow furrowed as he contemplated that. "Where is Los Angeles?"

"Los Angeles is in southern California."

Phoenix stared in shock at his hand, before waving it in front of the Britannian boy's gaze. There was no indication that he noticed.

Lelouch's eyes narrowed and he leaned forward, locking his fingers together in front of his face. He stared silently for a moment before speaking again. "I see. Tell me, where is this California?"

"California is on the southwestern coast of the United States of America."

 **-What is going on? How am I outside my own body? It's almost as if I were... a... spirit...-**

His gaze immediately moved to his jacket pocket where he was met by a brightly shining glow, one which immediately reminded him of Maya and Pearl. ' _Is this- am I using the Magatama to channel myself?'_

"America. Why then do your records state that you originally hail from the capital itself?" Lelouch objected with a look of irritation.

"I don't know."

Lelouch's gaze sharpened at this, his frown growing more pronounced. "You don't know? And why pray tell would you not know your own history?"

"I don't know. I have memories of the past; however, it is not my past."

The Britannian boy drew back at that, taking a sharp breath through clenched teeth. "Of course. Damn you, Charles zi Britannia." Turning his piercing gaze fully towards Phoenix's body double, he seemed to double his efforts. "What were the Emperor's orders to you? Why did he send you here?"

Phoenix's own eyes narrowed as he noted the familiarity with which Lelouch spoke of the current leader of Britannia.

"I have never met the Emperor. He did not send me."

Phoenix felt more than a small amount of satisfaction as Lelouch frowned again, visibly caught off-guard. During the ensuing silence while Lelouch silently contemplated his next question, Phoenix attempted to possess his own body multiple times, but sadly to no avail.

 **-Damn it. What is going on?-**

At length Lelouch spoke again. "If the Emperor didn't send you, then why are you here?"

"I am a Defense Attorney. I was hired to represent Suzaku Kururugi."

Phoenix grinned at his counterpart's response, even as Lelouch's frown deepened. "Of course, you only answer the questions I ask rather than the intent. Very well. Why did you come Area 11?"

"I didn't. I found myself here after the last time time reset."

 **-Crap. How do I explain that? Now I'm going to end up in an asylum again.-**

However, contrary to Phoenix's expectations, Lelouch had gone completely still as he stared in shock at Phoenix's double. "What? What did you just say?"

"I didn't. I found myself here after the last time time reset."

Phoenix watched with growing understanding as an equal look of comprehension dawned on Lelouch's face. "Impossible. You are caught in a time loop as well?" Phoenix's confirmation was ignored as the boy continued speaking to himself. "But if that is the case, then this cannot be my own personal damnation as I previously assumed."

 _'W-what? You thought you were in Hell? Why? What kind of person are you Lelouch Lamperouge?'_

"I see. If this is not, in fact, the hereafter then that means that I have indeed traveled into the past nearly one thousand times."

Phoenix's eyes bugged out of his head. **-A THOUSAND TIMES!-**

Phoenix himself had only been repeating his own lifetime a little over one hundred times at this point; the idea of a full millennium spent reliving his career was incomprehensible. And yet this boy, no, this man, had done exactly that. No wonder he had thought himself in Hell, trapped in this insane history where only the strong were allowed to prosper.

"But if this is not judgment for my actions, then what other explanation is there?" Once more Lelouch ignored Phoenix's answer of ignorance. "What is the purpose of this if not retribution for the crimes which I have committed as Zero?"

Again Phoenix's eyes widened. **-You're that madman from the trial!-**

Sighing to himself, Lelouch pinched the bridge of his nose before rising to his feet. "It seems that I have only found myself with more questions than I came here with. However, I have learned at least one thing of value from this encounter. And if I am not the only person who is caught up in this endless recursion of time, then that means that there is a cause. More importantly, if there is a cause then there may in fact be a solution." He smirked at that, and nodded his head towards Phoenix's still blankly staring form.

"For that, Phoenix Wright, I thank you. Although it was unintentional, you have eased a great burden from my shoulders. A delusion which I have labored under for far too long has now been cleared and all that remains is the task at hand."

With that he turned and unceremoniously left the office. Phoenix stared after him in confusion for a moment before he felt the world shift, as if everything except himself had abruptly moved several steps backward, and he found himself seated once more in his chair.

" _W-what?"_

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the Magatama. Only now did he pause to wonder exactly how he had it in this world, since Maya wasn't here to give it to him. Then suddenly, as it had several times before, a memory of an event which he had never experienced played in his mind. Apparently he had defended an older version of a woman who looked remarkably like Pearl and in return she had gifted him the small charm.

Somehow, during whatever had just happened the spiritually charged stone had allowed him to astrally project himself while he underwent the strangest interrogation he had ever dealt with. Quickly returning the Magatama to his pocket, he hurried out into the hall. He was just in time to catch the boy, Lelouch, stepping into the elevator, before the doors began to close.

"Wait! Hold it!"

Rushing towards the door, he barely managed to catch it before it closed completely and stepped inside. "Wh-wh-wha... give me a minute," he said, breathing heavily as the Britannian boy controlled his expression.

 _'This me needs to get out more.'_

"Mr. Wright, what a surprise. I'm afraid that I won't be needing you're services after all. I apologize for wasting your time."

Phoenix took a deep breath and stood straight, meeting the gaze of the other time traveler. "Lelouch Lamperouge, what was that? What did you do?"

Something flashed behind Lelouch's eyes but vanished before Phoenix could try to decipher it. "I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage. I don't know what you mean."

Instantly the sound of rattling chains sounded in Phoenix's mind and a single Psyche-lock snapped into sight. "What was that thing you just did in my office? Some kind of hypnosis?"

Lelouch's eyes widened for a split second, before he pasted a calm smile on his face. "I really don't know what you're talking about. How could I have hypnotized you in the brief time which we spent talking? I simply asked you a few questions and decided that it would be best to seek help elsewhere."

 _'Crap, now what do I do? What kind of evidence can I use to prove that something happened?'_

Casting his thoughts backwards he tried to recall anything that he could use to force a confession. Lelouch had come into his office asking for help. He had told him to take a seat. Lelouch had expressed concern over his trustworthiness and he had assured him of his willingness to help. And then...

 **!**

"Lelouch, when you asked me to answer your questions I noticed something strange about your eyes. There was an unusual symbol in them. Can you explain this?"

Lelouch grimaced, and with the sound of breaking glass the Psyche-lock shattered. "Very well, Mr. Wright, I admit it. I used a form of hypnosis to be sure that I could trust you to help with my issue. Unfortunately I don't believe that you will be able to assist me. My situation is rather unusual and you appear to be equally in the dark."

"You mean about the time traveling," Phoenix pressed.

Lelouch recoiled with wide eyes. "You-you remember? Impossible! The Geass Disturber shouldn't even have been invented yet."

Phoenix rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish grin. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I've never heard of a 'geass' before."

His expression grew serious. "The important thing is that I know exactly what happened and I was aware the whole time. I don't know how but somehow we've both been trapped in a time loop of some kind. And even more confusing, I've somehow ended up here, in your world, by means unknown. I think that we can help each other, and considering the situation I'm willing to overlook the use of this 'geass' thing."

Lelouch was silent for several minutes, the only sound being the elevator's engine. Finally as the doors opened to reveal the first floor lobby, Lelouch smirked and turned to leave. "Let's take a walk, Mr. Wright. I have some information about the future that I think you may find interesting."

Phoenix gave a surprised look before following. As he fell into step beside the younger man, he only had one thought.

 _'Somehow I can't help but feel I've just made a deal with the devil.'_

* * *

17.2 – (Me)

[Fate Stay/Naruto]

Shirou Emiya Awoke not in his workshop as was typical for the start of his Loop, but sitting on the porch of the Emiya household staring out over the moonlit yard. Processing his Loop memories, which revealed that he had Awoken roughly three years before the Heaven's Feel Ritual, he quickly sent out a Ping. When he didn't receive a response his expression darkened and he quickly stood from his favorite place in the household and hurriedly began preparing for war.

He would be the first to admit that his mind didn't work the same way other people's did. Hell, his abnormal way of thinking had actually been the _source_ of his Baseline abilities. Where others would place their own safety, happiness and above all survival first and foremost in their life, he... didn't. To be more accurate he honestly couldn't, even after untold ages spent in the Loops the best he had been able to do was raise his own importance to that of equal to anyone else's.

He still would gladly sacrifice himself though if he thought that it would help someone, although as a result of the Loops that someone usually had to be a Looper or his status as an Anchor forced him to reconsider. Not that he would ever allow someone to suffer knowingly if he could help it. Which was why he was currently preparing to siege the Matou Manor.

As one of his best friends, and main love interests, Sakura Matou née Tohsaka was one of the three people he would willingly crash a Loop for without hesitation. And he had on occasion, Admins be damned. Whenever Shirou Awoke his first actions were to check to see if Sakura was Looping. If not then without fail his second action was to attack the home of a centuries old monster in human skin which had helped design a Magic Ritual which was intended to recreate a True Magic; a Mystery as high above typical Magecraft as Magecraft was to tinker toys. He literally could not understand how any other option could be considered.

In all of Yggdrasil there were only two creatures which he could honestly say that he hated; not disliked, not didn't get along with but actively and intensely hated. The being known as Kyubey, and the monster known as Zouken Matou. When Awake Sakura was more than capable of dealing with her 'grandfather' and Shirou was willing to let her. Sakura could be rather scary when she wanted to be. When she was Unawake however, Shirou refused to rest until he was certain she was safe. As a Hero of Justice he couldn't do any less.

His first action upon reaching the Matou home was to fire a rain of projected Rule Breakers, neutralizing the Bounded Field surrounding the estate as well as several of the secondary traps. His next act was to activate his Reality Marble, an endless amount of practice having allowed him to convert the Unlimited Blade Works into a Single-Action Spell where no Aria was required. Once he had imposed his personal reality upon the World his third act was to blow the gates to shreds with a targeted Caladbolg II, fired at almost a thousand paces effortlessly.

It was only once he had charged into the building itself that he realized that something was wrong. First of all the house was in good repair, with wood paneled walls, working light fixtures and a kitchen that at any other time he would be tripping over himself to familiarize himself with. Secondly was the music playing gently from downstairs, a hauntingly beautiful refrain on violin and piano. Lastly, and surprisingly not the first thing he noticed, was the screaming. Not Sakura thank Yggdrasil, but the familiar wheeze of the Matou patriarch. It was a testament to his anger that he found the second sound to be more enjoyable than the first.

Cautiously he made his way down the stairs, noting the distinct lack of rot on the walls. Finally he entered the antechamber beneath the estate. The sight which greeted him was... surprising. And more than a little horrifying. If it were anyone else he would have likely dedicated the Loop to taking down the person responsible. But, as he recalled the horrors which had been visited upon his friend and lover in the Baseline, he somehow couldn't find it in himself to be upset.

Glancing up from where she was currently dissecting one of Zouken's Crest Worms, Sakura Haruno Matou gave a surprised look at Shirou. The two stared at each other in silence, Zouken's whimpering providing background, before Sakura spoke. "I'm not apologizing."

Shirou continued to stare.

"I know this looks bad, but the bastard had it coming. The things he did to my Unawake self remind me of some of my... less controlled experiments."

Shirou continued to stare.

"I'm not going to relapse if that's what you're worried about."

Shirou continued to stare. Sakura growled angrily.

"Look, can you stop that. If it bothers you that much I'll just put him back together."

This managed to snap Shirou out of his shock. "NO! I-What I mean is I wasn't expecting to see... well, this. Why didn't you answer the Ping?"

Sakura blushed slightly. "I tend to get caught up in my work. I didn't even notice."

Well. Alright then. Shirou paused to consider the fact that Sakura Haruno was Replacing his Sakura. On the one hand she was a recovering sociopath with a history of uncontrolled experimentation, manipulation and all around unethical behavior so bad that there was a Syndrome named after her. On the other hand, she wasn't Zouken. "Right. Well I'm Shirou Emiya, the local Anchor. If you get hungry you're welcome to come to the Emiya residence. The Loop generally only lasts about two weeks, although occasionally it lasts for a few years after that. Welcome to Fuyuki."

Sakura blinked. "Wait, that's it. You walk in here and catch me doing who knows what and you invite me to dinner? How does that even make sense?"

Shirou smiled. It wasn't a nice smile, almost razor-like. "I don't know you personally, only by reputation. I know _him_. The atrocities he committed in Baseline to the person you're replacing are unforgivable. You have my permission to do whatever you want with him. Except kill him."

Sakura took a moment to process this, before her eyes gleamed. "Deal. Just be sure and check up on me every other day or so. I don't want to go too far and lose any progress I've made. I only just managed to get Sasuke to stop flinching every time I enter the room and I'd like to keep it that way."

Nodding his agreement Shirou deactivated his Reality Marble and turned to leave, before Sakura spoke again.

"And Shirou... thank you. I'm sure you're aware, but I'm not generally well-liked by other Loopers. It's nice to be accepted."

Shirou turned back with a smile. "Like I said, I only know you by reputation. As long as you don't harm anyone, Zouken not included, I'm willing to give you a chance. Heck, even my half sister tries to kill me in Baseline and she usually ends up living at my place by the end of the Loop."

With a friendly wave, Shirou headed back up the stairs. Sakura watched him go with a considering gaze, before turning back to the Familiar she had been working on when he had come in. New ideas blossomed in her mind and she gave a grin. "I'm going to like this Loop."

* * *

17.3 – (Xomniac)

[FLCL/MLP]

Twilight blinked as she awoke in Ponyville. A rapid assessment of her memories showed that she had _just_ gotten off the carriage from Canterlot. Not even Pinkie Pie had had time to greet her yet. One quick Ping later and it was apparent that only a few people appeared to be Awake.

"Wait..." Twilight blinked as she idly went over her Loop memories. Spike's behavior in them was...

Twilight raised an eyebrow curiously as she regarded the young dragon at her side, taking in his moody expression, the backwards baseball cap on his head, and the baseball bat he was carrying on his shoulder.

"Er, who are you?"

The dragon looked at her out of the corner of his eye before grunting dismissively. "Call me Naota."

Twilight smiled and extended a hoof. "I know your Loop memories might have already told you this, but I'm Twilight Sparkle. Welcome to Equestria!"

Naota glanced at her again before grunting out a greeting.

The equine Anchor frowned slightly at the rudeness before shrugging and starting to trot forwards. "Well, come on. I 'll show you around and introduce you to my friends. They all seem to be Awake, so-!"

"Actually..." Naota interjected as he followed her. "I recognized one of those Pegasi we passed on the way in. Looks like one of my guys is here too, so sorry in advance for what's gonna happen soon enough."

Twilight turned and gave him a questioning look. "What are you-?"

CRASH!

Her train of thought was interrupted when _something_ slammed into her skull from above before she could react, burying her face in the ground.

"WOOHOO! THAT WAS AWESOME! At least twenty percent cooler than how I usually do it."

"Hey Haruko..."

"Oh, hey Takkun! Check out the new bod! Awesome, ain't it? It's like I'm my own Vespa!"

"Yeah yeah, that's great. Say, could you save me for last? I want my skull to stay intact for a bit."

"Works for me! Later Takkun! Now then! ONWARDS! ATOMSK, YOU WILL BE MINE THIS TIME!"

Twilight groaned as she finally felt the object lift off her head. "Who and what was that...?"

"Haruko just hit you with her guitar at Mach 1 in the body of a blue rainbow-haired pegasus. Sorry about her, it's just that Atomsk is kind of her white whale, and she's gotten lots of luck using Loopers in the past. She tends to use each one once, just to see how effective they are."

"No hard feelings... so... what happens now?"

"Considering the N.O. levels I think you have? A monster should come out of your skull in the next few hours."

"Yaaaaay..."

* * *

17.4 – (KrisOverstreet)

{Evangelion/Red vs Blue)

The card leaned against a twelve-story apartment building. The lettering, although large, was in perfectly neat, precisely aligned Japanese.

 _To whom it may concern;_

 _After witnessing the efforts of your creation to defeat one of our own, we have decided to postpone all further attacks on your world. Probability analysis strongly indicates that, left to your own devices, you will destroy yourselves within the next orbital period._

 _Angelim_

Gendo Ikari stared up at the immense piece of pasteboard, saying nothing.

"Looks like we get some free time to get to know each other, Church's German Cousin!" Michael "Caboose" Ikari told the young woman next to him.

"Shut up, _du Teamkiller arseloch,_ " Asuka growled. On the whole, she felt, she'd rather deal with the Ree. The Ayanami clones, at least, had enough brains to be reasoned with, even as _wahnsinnig_ as those brains were...

* * *

17.1 – And nothing was explained to anybody.  
17.2 – Ahhh. Karmic retribution never felt so cathartic.  
17.3 – Well… at least you already have experience with fighting off monsters. Silver linings, right?  
17.4 – To be fair, it wasn't actually his fault. Someone put the Navy in the way.


End file.
